25 June 2007CNN.com
Southeastern Europe continued to sizzle under an intense heat wave Monday, with temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius leading to the deaths of four people in Greece and Cyprus and sparking two dozen forest fires in Italy.
Temperatures in the southern Italian city of Bari reached 45 degrees Celsius, while the Sicilian capital of Palermo hit 42 degrees and parts of Greece topped out at 41.6 degrees.
The Greek Health Ministry said three pensioners aged 76, 84 and 103 died of medical conditions aggravated by heatstroke. In Cyprus, a 72-year-old woman died of heatstroke, as temperatures there reached 41 degrees Celsius.
Nearly 30 people were reported killed in Romania, Serbia and Albania last week because of the heat wave, officials said.
Italian officials said the high temperatures and strong winds had started 25 blazes Monday on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, as well as in the southern part of the mainland. A forest fire had also broken out north of Athens in Greece.
In the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, Turkey, authorities were banning people from entering the forests to avoid possible fires, CNN-Turk television reported.
Farming officials, meanwhile, warned that Sicily's lemons were literally baking in the heat and that farmers were being forced to harvest them unusually early to save them.
Greek electricity consumption exceeded 10,000 megawatts to hit a record high Monday, causing limited power outages in the Athens area and other parts of the country.
Temperatures were expected to remain well above normal until Wednesday, forecasters said.
