A record-breaking hot and dry summer tightened its grip on Europe Monday, as water-dropping planes swooped over a major wildfire in Greece, firefighters in France sought to stabilize a blaze in Provence, and much of the UK recorded its driest July in nearly two centuries. Wildfires west of Athens jumped containment lines, a day after a midair collision between two helicopters killed two crew members. A Greek and a Danish national died and two others were hospitalised in the helicopter collision. All four were private operators chartered by the Greek firefighting service. In France, firefighters in the region around Bordeaux guarded against potential flare-ups inside a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris.
Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire raging since four days in the Megara Region, west of Athens on August 3, 2026 © Aris Oikonomou, AFP
A prolonged heat wave and lack of rainfall led to the driest July in England and Wales in nearly 200 years of recordkeeping, according to provisional statistics, the UK’s weather service said Monday. All of Wales and more than half of England are officially in drought, the Met Office said. The dry spell was accompanied by sweltering temperatures across much of the UK, following heat waves in May and June. Wales tied its record for its warmest mean temperature for July while England and the UK recorded their second-warmest July. Read moreCats, dogs and horses: Rescuing the pets caught in France’s wildfires Strong winds returned to southern Greece late Monday, pushing flames into mountain home clusters, destroying farms and property, and closing a highway. Areas surrounding Athens remain at high risk through the week with temperatures set to rise further. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of the capital – including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area.
