Deadly heat is searing parts of Europe as wildfires and heatwaves pose threats to life after one boy died of heatstroke in Italy.
The four-year-old Romanian died on Monday just days after being found unconscious in the family’s car in Sardinia.
The unnamed boy was was airlifted to a Rome hospital but died of irreversible brain damage, the hospital said.
The tragedy comes after Italy’s health ministry issued a red alert warning for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence.
Some 11 Italian cities are on red alert for Tuesday, and 16 cities on Wednesday, while around 190 firefighters and the army continue to tackle a wildfire on Mount Vesuvius that caused the closure of the national park to tourists.
Dramatic footage showed flames engulfing the volcano in Naples as firefighting teams both on ground and in the air rushed to the scene.
Meanwhile, temperature records were broken in at least four weather stations in southern France, as the government called for vigilance.
The southwestern city of Bordeaux hit a record 41.6C while all-time records were also broken at meteorological stations in Bergerac, Cognac and Saint Girons, according to the national weather service, Meteo France.
A helicopter drops water over a wildfire at the Vesuvius National Park in Trecase, near Naples, Italy on August 11, 2025
Burnt trees as smoke rises from a wildfire at the Vesuvius National Park in Trecase, near Naples, Italy on August 11, 2025
Wildfires hit Mount Vesuvius as deadly blazes sweep through Europe amid a scorching heatwave. Pictured: A large fire on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius near Naples, Italy, 08 August 2025
The heatwave, the country’s second this summer, began on Friday and was forecast to last possibly until August 19 or 20.
On Monday, 12 French departments were placed on red alert, the country’s highest heat warning, with four more expected on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, people were also evacuated from dozens of homes in the Balkans as firefighters battled blazes in Albania, Montenegro and Croatia, where red alerts were announced.
In Albania, hundreds of firefighters and soldiers had subdued most of the nearly 40 fires that flared up in the last 24 hours, according to the defence ministry, but more than a dozen were still active.
Fires continued to burn in the southern coastal area of Finiq, around 160km south of the capital, where about 10 people were evacuated and several homes were razed on Sunday night, according to local media.
Earlier, flames driven by wind and intense heat spread to the hills around the central southern city of Polican, prompting the evacuation of elderly residents from a care home and six families from nearby villages.
The ministry said the fire had been controlled with no threat to surrounding communities.
Around 800 Albanian troops have been deployed, along with military aircraft and helicopters from surrounding countries, to battle the wildfires.
A local and a member of emergency services work to contain a wildfire near Tepelena, Albania, August 11, 2025
Members of emergency services work to contain a wildfire near Tepelena, Albania, August 11, 2025
In Albania, hundreds of firefighters and soldiers had subdued most of the nearly 40 fires that flared up in the last 24 hours
A Red Cross volunteer cleans a shower cabin inside the truck provided for the homeless in Bordeaux, south-western France, on August 11, 2025
Women with a umbrella a fan walk near the Garonne river bank in the middle of the day in Toulouse, southwestern France on August 11, 2025. The heatwave that started on August 8, 2025 has intensified, with temperatures at an ‘exceptional level’ in the south-west, where 12 departments are classified under red heatwave alert until August 12, 2025 by Meteo-France
Since the start of July, nearly 84,000 acres have been scorched nationwide, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
Police allege that many of the blazes were deliberately lit, with more than 20 people arrested in recent weeks.
Wildfires also damaged a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site in northwestern Spain.
Spanish firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire that damaged a Roman-era mining site in Las Medulas and prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate.
High temperatures and winds of up to 25mph created ‘many difficulties’, said Juan Carlos Suarez-Quinones, the Castile and Leon regional environment minister.
‘We will not allow people to return until safety in their communities is absolutely guaranteed,’ he told reporters, estimating that about 700 people had been displaced.
Four people, including two firefighters, suffered minor injuries, he added.
The blaze broke out on Sunday near Las Medulas, an area famed for its striking red landscape.
Spain has been in the grip of a heatwave for the past week, with temperatures nearing 40C in many areas and fuelling wildfires.
Fire burns next to a house during a wildfire in Congosta, Spain, August 11, 2025
Spain has been in the grip of a heatwave for the past week, with temperatures nearing 40C in many areas and fuelling wildfires
Spanish firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire that damaged a Roman-era mining site in Las Medulas and prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate
A local resident and firefighters use water hoses to cool down the soil after a wildfire in Congosta, Spain, August 11, 2025
Castile and Leon alone has seen 13 fires in the past three days, according to Suarez-Quinones, who said that some were believed to have been deliberately started.
In neighbouring Portugal, firefighters were battling three large wildfires in the centre and north of the country.
Elsewhere, just outside the capital of Montenegro, where temperatures soared to 40C, fire crews managed to save dozens of homes when a blaze broke out in inaccessible terrain on Monday, the commander of the Protection and Rescue Service, Nikola Bojanovic, told media.
In Croatia, around 150 firefighters also spent the night defending homes from a blaze near the port city of Split.
The fire started at 2:54am above Jesenice and Sumpetar in the area of Staro Selo.
Around 150 firefighters with 50 vehicles are battled the blaze, supported by three Canadair aircraft and one Air Tractor.
According to the chief fire commander of Split-Dalmatia County, Ivan Kovačević, flames threatened several homes during the night but firefighters managed to save them.
Pave Tomić, the fire chief in Dugi Rat, told HRT that the situation remains serious.
Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire in the outskirts of the Podgorica capital, on August 11, 2025, as temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius
Smoke and flames rise from trees burning in a wildfire near Montenegro’s capital of Podgorica, Monday, August 11, 2025
A firefighting helicopter collects water from river Moraca, in Stara Zlatica suburbs, as temperature rises during a heatwave in Podgorica, Montenegro, August 11, 2025
In Portugal today firefighters were battling three large wildfires in the centre and north of the country
The largest wildfire in Portugal, near the town of Trancoso, has been burning since August 9, 2025 and is being battled by more than 650 firefighters backed by six aircraft
A firefighting aeroplane drops water during a wildfire in Krilo Jesenice, Croatia, August 11, 2025
‘The fire is not under control and the affected area is large. We have no confirmed reports yet of destroyed residential or commercial buildings, and as far as I know there are no injuries. Our priority is to save houses and push the fire away from them, but we are far from bringing it under control,’ he said.
Several people have been evacuated as a precaution, confirmed national fire commander Slavko Tucaković.
In the northwestern Turkish province of Canakkale, more than 2,000 people were evacuated and 77 people received hospital treatment for smoke inhalation after several fires broke out around the tourist village of Guzelyali, authorities said.
On Monday Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumakli shared the latest developments regarding forest fires on social media.
He said: ‘We have completely brought 45 of the 55 forest fires that broke out in our country today under control.
‘The energy levels of the fires in Çanakkale Ayvacık and Ezine, Bolu Mudurnu, Kahramanmaraş Göksun, Muğla Milas, Hatay Yayladağ, and Manisa Şehzadeler have been reduced.
People try to extinguish a wildfire in the northwestern city of Canakkale province, Turkey, August 11, 2025
Flames rise as firefighter teams continue their efforts to extinguish the fire that broke out in the forest area of Kepez region in Canakkale
A house is damaged by fire, as a wildfire burns in Erenkoy in the northwestern Canakkale province, Turkey, August 11, 2025
People load a water tank to help fight a wildfire raging in the northwestern Canakkale province, Turkey, August 11, 2025
In the northwestern Turkish province of Canakkale, more than 2,000 people were evacuated and 77 people received hospital treatment for smoke inhalation after several fires broke out around the tourist village of Guzelyali
A firefighter works as a wildfire burns in Kepez in the northwestern Canakkale province, Turkey, August 11, 2025
‘Our teams continue to respond to the fires in Çanakkale Merkez and Dardanos, Manisa Soma, and Edirne Enez.’
Yumakli emphasised that they are fighting with all their might to bring the ongoing fires under control as soon as possible, and said: ‘We had previously issued warnings that we were going through a high-risk week for forest fires.
‘Unfortunately, the risk will continue in the coming days. Please refrain from lighting fires or throwing cigarette butts outside. Let’s avoid any behavior that could cause a fire.’
Several homes and cars caught ablaze, according to images shown on Turkish media, while more than 760 firefighters, 10 aeroplanes, nine helicopters and more than 200 vehicles were deployed to battle the flames.
Turkey had just experienced its hottest July since records began 55 years ago.
