Heatwave claims hundreds of lives in Europe

Southeastern Europe was a tinderbox Wednesday in the grip of an unrelenting heatwave that has claimed hundreds of lives as wildfires swept southern Italy and bit into a national park in Slovakia.

Southern Italy is sweltering under a heatwave that has brought temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

In Apulia on Tuesday, two people were burned alive in their car near the Adriatic coastal town of Peschici, while on Monday a pilot died when his Canadair crashed while he was fighting a fire in Abruzzo.

In Slovakia a lightning strike sparked a huge forest fire on Sunday that was still raging across about 10 hectares (25 acres) of the Slovensky Raj (Slovakian Paradise) national park in the east of the country.

Meanwhile Greek authorities were holding emergency meetings on one of the hottest days of the year as the risk of fire remained high and the death toll from the ongoing heatwave rose to four.

With temperatures set to hit 45 degrees Celsius in parts of the country, Greeks were warned to stay indoors and help conserve electricity to prevent power outages.

The heatwave caused a spike in smog pollution in Athens, with ozone levels above emergency limits in several parts, prompting the government to urge motorists to avoid the city centre.

Hungary, where up to 500 people may have died last week from heat-related causes, enjoyed a significant drop in temperatures overnight with the welcome arrival of a cool front.