Extreme weather: Temperatures of more than 40C persist in Europe and wildfires rage in Greece, as US braces for record heat
Temperatures across parts of Europe remain above 40C (104F) , as wildfires rage in Greece.
Winds near Athens have fuelled a major wildfire close to the Greek capital, forcing people from their homes and burning 13.5 square miles (35 square km) of forest and scrubland.
Authorities had declared the huge blaze contained overnight on Wednesday, but firefighters lost control of the fire when the wind picked up, officials said.
See the weather forecast where you are
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said “the hard times are clearly not over yet”, adding: “We are facing another heat wave and a possible strengthening of the winds… absolute vigilance and absolute readiness are required over the next few days.”
As well as around Athens, there are also evacuation orders on the island of Rhodes.
While temperatures are expected to cool slightly to the mid-30Cs on Friday, the Met Office predicts they will rise again to around 41C (105F) on Sunday.
Spain and Italy have also faced searing heat in recent days, with Murcia in southern Spain and the Italian island of Sicily both bearing the brunt of the 44C (111.2F) heat, with public warnings issued for children and older people.
Spanish news service EFE said a Moroccan man died in Murcia from heat-related problems on Thursday.
Temperatures in Spain will rise once more on Sunday, forecasters say, when a national election is taking place.
Meanwhile in the US, Arizona is bracing for temperatures of more than 48C (118.4F) – the 21st day in a row that heat has exceeded 43C (109.4F).
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Temperatures remain high in Europe
Read more:
How will the heatwave affect your holiday
British holidaymakers are changing their Europe plans as temperatures surge
‘Low chance’ of UK heatwave this summer, experts say
Teams with the City of Phoenix Heat Response Program have been preparing heat relief kits, manning hydration stations and handing out water bottles to homeless people.
In California’s Death Valley, which is no stranger to high temperatures, a 71-year-old man collapsed and died earlier in the week, with rangers at the National Park reporting it was likely hotter than 50C (122F) in the valley itself.
Death Valley, the lowest point in the US, holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, at 56.7C (131.1F)
Temperatures are expected to hit 48.3C in Phoenix, Arizona. Pic: AP
Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. Pic: AP
A third of the US is experiencing extreme weather, mostly focused across the south of the country.
The US National Weather service predicts the intense heat will last into next week before abating, with 80 million Americans likely to see temperatures above 40C.
In India, monsoons have killed more than 100 people in recent weeks, as well as triggering landslides and flooding.
Monsoon rains, which typically fall between June and September, have been 2% higher than normal, according to the country’s weather service.
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Meanwhile in the UK, a month’s-worth of rain is expected to fall in the space of 48 hours.
Forecasters say hilly areas of northern England and Northern Ireland, as well as southern areas of Scotland and Wales, could see up to 80mm of rain from Saturday.
A typical month’s rainfall in July in the UK is 88mm.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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