Wildfires raging across Rhodes and Corfu have turned stunning holiday destinations into ‘hell on earth’, with blazing temperatures and angry red skies.
Holidaymakers have described the horrific scenes as ‘apocalyptic’ and ‘utter chaos’.
An anticyclone system called Cerberus expanded northwards over the continent earlier this month, leading to scorching temperatures and even a threat to life warning in Italy due to the extreme heat.
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But Cerberus is now being replaced with a second heatwave named Charon, which could push temperatures back up to around 45°C across the continent, the MailOnline reports – leading to fears the Greek wildfires could get worse.
Thousands of tourists, including an estimated 7,000-10,000 Brits, have been forced to sleep on the floor of Rhodes International Airport this morning as they wait to be taken home amid expansive wildfires.
Others were left to sleep on sun beds as hotels in safer areas filled up with evacuating tourists.
Yesterday Corfu, a popular holiday destination, became the second Greek holiday hotspot to be devastated by wildfires.
Winds of up to 35mph have made it even harder for firefighters to put out the destructive fires.
With temperatures expected to hit 45°C, the Ministry for Civil Protection warned of a very high risk of wildfires in almost half of Greece.
Pictures of the wildfires across Greece show the usually picturesque holiday destinations looking hellish.
The sky has turned red or even black in some areas due to the roaring fires and thick black smoke.
The Greek government has warned further locations are at ‘extreme fire risk’, including Crete and the region of Attica, which encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area.
Firefighters have hinted there are ‘indications of arson’ as the cause of the blaze.
Fire service spokesman Vasilios Vathrakogiannis said on Sunday evening that 64 new wildfires had broken out around the country today, bringing the total number of ongoing incidents to 82.
He said: ‘Difficult times are ahead of us. Conditions remain extreme. We appeal to citizens who are evacuating settlements.
‘For your own safety, in case you wish to return to your place of residence or accommodation, you must be informed by the competent authorities.
‘All Civil Protection forces remain on alert.’
A British couple have told of their ‘nightmare’ time on Rhodes while celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Laura and Marc Hall were supposed to fly back to the UK on Friday, and described ash falling in their drinks as they were told to stand by at their hotel.
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The couple were evacuated to a basketball stadium and slept on the floor overnight.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mrs Hall said: ‘It’s been a nightmare, on Saturday night we were just having a drink and we knew that other places had been evacuated but we were just told to stand by.
‘There was ash falling in our drinks and we could just see a blaze in the distance and a load of smoke, we were told not to do anything and then all of a sudden we had alarms going off on our phone and the waiter was saying standby, shouting “mayday, mayday”.
‘So it was just a mad panic, we all started packing, we were just told to wait and we might have to evacuate, so we just stayed in our rooms and at 3am we get a call, we’ve got to go.’
MORE: Petrified tourists flee Rhodes and Corfu in apocalyptic scenes as Greece set ablaze by wildfire hell
MORE: At least ‘two people killed and several trapped’ after bridge collapses in Greece
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