ATHENS, Greece -- Tourists in central Athens huddled under mist machines, and zoo animals in Madrid were fed fruit ice pops Thursday as southern Europeans suffered through a heat wave that was projected to get much worse heading into the weekend.
Temperatures in parts of Mediterranean Europe were forecast to reach as high as 113 degrees starting today.
The high-pressure system affecting the region, which crossed the Mediterranean from north Africa, has been named Cerberus after the three-headed dog in ancient Greek mythology who guarded the gates to the underworld.
Officials in several countries were preparing emergency measures, cellphone alerts and adjustments to staffing levels.
In Athens and other Greek cities, working hours were changed for the public sector and many businesses to avoid the midday heat, while air-conditioned areas were opened to the public.
"It's like being in Africa," 24-year-old tourist Balint Jolan, from Hungary, told The Associated Press. "It's not that much hotter than it is currently at home, but yes, it is difficult."
Cerberus is being tracked by the European Space Agency, which warned that the heat wave will also be felt in parts of northern Europe.
"Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heat wave, with temperatures expected to climb to [118.4 degrees Fahrenheit] on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia -- potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe" the agency said Thursday.
In the Arctic, a record high temperature of 83.8 degrees was measured at Slettness Fyr on the northern tip of Norway, Norwegian meteorologists said Thursday. This tops a previous record from July 1964 when the thermometer reached 81.7 degrees. The United Nation's World Meteorological Organization on Monday said global temperatures recorded in early July were among the hottest on record. As Spain's politicians fret about how the high temperatures might affect turnout in a general election this month, animals in Madrid's zoo were being treated this week to frozen food to cool off amid the sweltering heat. Zookeepers fed pandas and bears with watermelon ice pops, seals with frozen sardines and lions with frozen buckets of meat.
Television ads in Italy reminded city dwellers to look after their pets and check in regularly with elderly relatives. Authorities were awaiting an autopsy of a 44-year-old roadworker who collapsed near Milan and later died in hospital. Storms overnight felled trees in an Italian region bordering Slovenia and Austria, while baseball size hail fell in valleys near Bergamo in Lombardy.
Rainfall provided some respite in Croatia, but evacuation orders were issued in several areas as a wildfire swept through coastal areas of the country. In North Macedonia, the high heat triggered a spike in emergency calls for health assistance, while residents in Kosovo, which is also landlocked, flocked to an artificial beach near the capital Pristina. Authorities in Cyprus urged the Mediterranean island's residents to avoid forest areas where wildfires could be caused unintentionally.
Meanwhile, emergency services in nearby Turkey also grappled with simultaneous fires and floods. Flooding in the northern Black Sea coast claimed three lives. In the southwest Milas region, 26 water-dropping planes and helicopters helped 600 firefighters contain a wildfire. "While there are heat and fires on one side of the country, there are floods and deluges on the other," Turkish Deputy Agriculture Minister Veysel Tiryaki said Thursday. "In our country as well as around the world, we are struggling with climate change."
Information for this article was contributed by Jovana Gec, Srdjan Nedeljkovic, Menelaos Hadjicostis, Jan M. Olsen, Andrew Wilks, Konstantin Testorides, Colleen Barry and Florent Bajrami of The Associated Press.
A man cools off at a fountain during a sunny day in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A tourist takes a selfie as a couple sit under an umbrella in front of the five century BC Erechteion temple at the Acropolis hill during a heat wave, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The government has announced emergency measures this week, allowing workers to stay home during peak temperature hours as a heat wave is due to affects most of Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A tourist drinks water as she and a man sit under an umbrella in front of the five century BC Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill during a heat wave, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The government has announced emergency measures this week, allowing workers to stay home during peak temperature hours as a heat wave is due to affects most of Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A woman fans herself in Madrid, Spain, Monday, July 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A man holds an umbrella as he and other tourists enters the ancient Acropolis hill during a heat wave, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The government has announced emergency measures this week, allowing workers to stay home during peak temperature hours as a heat wave is due to affects most of Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A bear holds frozen fruits treat on a hot and sunny day at the Madrid Zoo, Spain, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
An orangutan licks a treat on a hot and sunny day at the Madrid Zoo, Spain, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A bear eats frozen fruits on a hot and sunny day at the Madrid Zoo, Spain, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
An orangutan licks a treat on a hot and sunny day at the Madrid Zoo, Spain, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)