SPAIN: Five members of the same family were killed by forest fires which ravaged Spain yesterday as forecasters predicted there would be some relief from Europe's sizzling heatwave by the end of the week.
The five were killed as they apparently tried to flee the flames which had encircled their home. They were the country's first victims of the fires which have devastated parts of the continent in recent weeks.
In neighbouring Portugal, which has been worst affected by the blazes, four villages in the Algarve resort region were evacuated because of a fire that more than 200 firefighters have been battling to control for three days.
However, weather forecasters said the hot, dry weather gripping Europe was expected to break by the weekend. "We're going to see a complete change, with a definite drop [in temperatures\] on Friday and a little more on Saturday," a spokeswoman for Portugal's weather service said.
Elsewhere in Europe, the prolonged drought has depleted rivers and lakes, causing problems for shipping and threatening output by hydro-electric and nuclear power plants.
Croatia is experiencing water shortages along the southern Adriatic coast and islands. Some islands, such as Pag and Vis, have already experienced cuts in water supplies.
In Britain, which had its hottest day on record on Sunday, the weather was causing problems at the start of the traditional grouse-shooting season.
"The grouse just don't like flying when it is so hot. They just hunker down in the heather," said Ms Amanda Anderson of the Moorland Association on the eve of the "Glorious Twelfth".