Greece and Turkey continue to battle major wildfires amid a severe heatwave. Temperatures reached 42.4C in central Greece at the weekend, with emergency services battling fires in the Peloponnese area of Athens and on the popular tourist islands of Kytheria and Crete.

Greece is among the countries in southern Europe battling wildfires this summer as firefighters continue to tackle blazes on both the mainland and on several of its islands

Firefighters battled on Monday to put out wildfires in three separate provinces of Turkey, in Greece and near a tourist resort in Albania, stoked by strong winds after days of searing heat across the Mediterranean region.

A wildfire has burned through a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, prompting evacuations. On Saturday, residents of Kryoneri received three SMS messages to evacuate to safe areas.

Greece battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and prompted evacuations for a second day on Sunday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later.