Europe hit by deadly weather extremes: Forest fire kills two in Greece, storms claim lives in the east and Portugal braces for 44C heat

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:37, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 12:37, 1 July 2026 Deadly weather has swept across Europe after last week's heatwave, with two people killed in a forest fire in Greece and storms claiming lives in Romania and Austria. The heatwave was the most severe ever recorded in Europe, with temperature records broken across large parts of the continent before storms and wildfires followed. Portugal has placed parts of the country on red alert as forecasters warn temperatures could reach 44C, while Spain said more than 1,000 people died from heat-related causes during June.  A huge forest blaze in northern Greece killed two people before it was contained, the fire brigade said on Wednesday. A five-kilometre (three-mile) wall of flames had threatened the village of Liti, about 15 km from the city of Thessaloniki, on Tuesday. Dramatic images showed brave volunteers working with firefighters to extinguish the flames. In one picture a burned out car could be seen sitting among charred trees. Firefighters said on Wednesday that the blaze had been contained. A man had been killed, a woman injured, and firefighters found another body on Tuesday night that they were trying to identify. Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire close to a burnt house and a car near the village of Liti, Thessaloniki, Greece A volunteer battles a wildfire burning in a forest area in Derveni, Oreokastro, Thessaloniki, Greece, 30 June 2026 Dramatic images showed brave volunteers working with firefighters to extinguish the flames A five-kilometre (three-mile) wall of flames had threatened the village of Liti, about 15 km from the city of Thessaloniki, on Tuesday This photograph shows fire burning next to a house during a forest fire in Liti, a village north of Thessaloniki, Greece, on June 30 In one picture a burned out car could be seen sitting among charred trees Vehicles move through a flooded street in Bucharest, Romania A person pushes their vehicle through a flooded street in Bucharest, Romania July 1, 2026 An uprooted tree following heavy gusts of wind during a strong storm in northern Bucharest, Romania, July 1 A worker watches as rainwater is pumped out of a flooded railway underpass in northern Bucharest, Romania, July 1 An uprooted tree following heavy gusts of wind during a strong storm in northern Bucharest, Romania This still from a video shows a firefighting helicopter trying to extinguish a forest fire in Greece According to local residents, it was the 12-year-old son of the injured woman. Other forest fires have also broken out in recent days as Greece heads towards its peak tourist season.  Each year, Greece battles forest fires amid regular droughts and heatwaves. On the island of Corfu, a woman fell into the sea from a cruise ship after strong winds knocked her balance as she boarded. Fortunately she was rescued by the coast guard. Meanwhile, parts of Portugal have been placed on red alert due to high temperatures forecast for the coming days, after being relatively spared from the recent heatwave in Europe. The country's IPMA weather agency said the Lisbon and Setubal regions on the coast will be on red alert for high temperatures on Thursday. That will be extended on Friday to the Leiria and Coimbra areas further north, where temperatures could hit 44C in places. An orange alert was imposed on Wednesday for four inland regions, including Evora, where 41C could be reached, the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said. The second-highest warning will be extended to all regions not on red alert, it added. 'During this period of very hot weather, the most notable element is its duration, which should be for at least a week,' the IPMA said in a statement Tuesday night. Coastal regions will be hotter due to a lack of sea breeze, while nighttime temperatures may not fall below 24-28C for several nights, it added. All-time temperature records have been broken in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as for the month of June in the UK and in Switzerland. France faced record-breaking average temperatures, with the country experiencing its highest-ever nighttime temperatures. Elsewhere, violent storms that followed the heatwave killed one person in Romania and another in Austria, authorities said on Wednesday. his photograph shows smoke raising from a forest fire in Liti, a village north of Thessaloniki on June 30, 2026 A car is stranded in the middle of a flooded railway underpass in northern Bucharest, Romania Firefighters battle a wildfire burning in a forest area in Derveni, Oreokastro, Thessaloniki, Greece A local resident walks amidst smoke rising from a wildfire near the village of Liti, Thessaloniki, Greece Lightning strikes over the skyline of the financial district in Frankfurt am Main, Germany A car has been submerged underwater following torrential rain in Bucharest  A volunteer battles a wildfire burning in a forest area in Derveni, Oreokastro, Thessaloniki, Greece A firefighting helicopter battles a wildfire burning in a forest area in Derveni, Oreokastro, Thessaloniki, Greece Smoke rising into the sky following a wildfire in Greece Storms lashed parts of Romania including the capital Bucharest, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, flooding some basements and homes and tearing down trees. Footage released by the emergency services showed them clearing tree branches from cars and people wading through waist-high water. In Ganeasa, just outside of Bucharest, a person was found dead inside a car struck by a falling tree, they said. In Bucharest alone, nearly 2,000 calls for help were reported, emergency services told broadcaster Digi24. Several metro stations were flooded.  Storms have also lashed Austria, causing landslides in Tyrol province and elsewhere since Sunday. A man died on Tuesday after being hit by a falling branch in Perg district in Upper Austria province, police said. The 26-year-old was driving his quad, together with his partner, when a roadside tree branch - battered by a storm - broke off and hit him, police said. Police and firefighters were deployed across several counties, evacuating flooded homes and clearing debris. The storm was preceded by a heat wave, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country on Monday and Tuesday, boosting power consumption and raising electricity prices. Spain has also revealed the devastating toll of the recent heatwave, with officials saying more than 1,000 people died from heat-related causes in June. At least 1,028 people died of heat-related issues during the heatwave, the public Carlos III Health Institute said. Children play football as they cool off in a water fountain as Spain experiences a heatwave, in Madrid on June 23 A woman shades her head with a fan in front of Jeronimos Monastery in Belem, during a heatwave in Lisbon on May 27 People protect themselves from the heatwave that affects daily life as high temperatures continue, on June 26, 2026, in Madrid, Spain The figure was more than double the 407 deaths that were attributed to heat in June 2025, Spain's hottest June since records started being kept, according to the national weather agency Aemet. The first six months of 2026 were the hottest in Spain since the start of records, with temperatures 1.6C above normal levels on average, Aemet said in a post on X on Wednesday. 'The seven warmest first semesters... have occurred over the past 10 years', the Aemet agency said in a post on X. June 2026 came in as the second-hottest June, 'with temperatures on average 3.2C above the norm,' Aemet said. France faced record breaking average temperatures, with the country experiencing its highest-ever nighttime temperatures. Switzerland was also hit by severe weather, with thunderstorms disrupting flights and torrential rain flooding roads.  In one clip, a car park can be seen completely flooded, with water leaking through the roof.  Storms also swept across Germany, where dramatic footage showed lightning streaking across the night skyline in Frankfurt. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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