Tourists flee as heatwave sparks wildfires in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Portugal

Popular tourist destinations across Europe are being ravaged by a wave of wildfires and blistering heat, with some areas reaching a record top of 50 degrees.

Tourists and locals are fleeing wildfires ravaging across Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Bulgaria as Europe continues to swelter in a summer heatwave.

Turkey has been the worst hit with bushfires causing at least 14 deaths in the past week.

Firefighters battled fresh blazes throughout the country on Monday where about 20 villages were evacuated and more than 3,500 people forced to leave their homes.

Temperatures had already soared to a record high of 50.5 degrees on Friday in Silopi, with the heatwave continuing this week with temperatures of 40-45 degrees in the central Anatolia region and 45-50 degrees forecast in the southeast on Tuesday.

Residents and firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire in the Gursu district of Bursa in Turkey. Picture: AFP

Fire ravages the Gursu district of Bursa. Picture: AFP

Firefighters tackled blazes around Bursa in the northwest on Monday, the country’s fourth-largest city and a major industrial centre, for the third consecutive day.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said more than 3000 fires had broken out since the beginning of summer, and authorities warned the situation would remain critical until October.

Aftermath of a wildfire in Turkey. Picture: AFP

Emergency services in neighbouring Bulgaria have fought more than 160 active wildfires.

Some that broke out Friday destroyed about 20 homes in the village of Rani Lug close to the Serbian border.

A firefighting helicopter drops water to extinguish a fire at the Polytechnic University of Athens. Picture: AP

Across the Aegean Sea in Greece, where blazes have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations across the country this summer, firefighters worked Monday to contain outbreaks after bringing dozens under control over the weekend.

A new forest fire broke out near the university campus east of Athens, in the municipality of Zografou.

According to firefighters, 65 firefighters, 20 vehicles, seven helicopters and six planes were mobilised to contain the flames.

Greece has endured heatwave conditions for a week, with temperatures passing 40 degrees in many areas.

A burnt slaughterhouse near Psachna Village on Evia (Euboea) island, the second-largest Greek island. Picture: AFP

Meanwhile, on the Iberian Peninsula, four Spanish planes joined more than 250 Portuguese firefighters battling a blaze Monday in an isolated mountain region near their border, authorities said.

The blaze in north Portugal’s Viana do Castelo district was spreading in two directions and difficult to tackle because of the strong winds, civil protection chief Marco Domingues said.

One firefighter has been injured.

Authorities have put much of northern and southern Portugal on the highest alert for wildfires because of high temperatures and strong winds.

Originally published as Tourists flee as heatwave sparks wildfires in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Portugal