Fires, heat, storms, hail: Europe's wild week of weather

It has been a tumultuous week of weather across the continent, to keep up with everything we’re rounding up the most important stories.

Out of control forest fires in Greece quickly spread this week, affecting hotels and tourist hotspots and seeing local residents forced to evacuate.

An estimated 20,000 tourists were forced to flee the situation in Rhodes while large fires also broke out in Corfu, Evia, and others.

Tragedy struck on Wednesday when a plane being used to douse flames from above accidentally clipped a tree as it banked near Platanistos. Crashing and killing both on board.

Check out our full coverage of the events from earlier this week.

Italy was struck by dual extremes. First, with severe thunderstorms in northern regions. Overnight storms in Lombardy impacted Milan resulting in an estimated £85 million worth of damage while two people were killed in the Monza and Brescia provinces.

Accompanying the storms were hailstones, extremely large hailstones. Including a possible record-breaker for the largest hailstone ever recorded, which fell in Azzano Decimo of the Pordenone province.

Find more coverage on this event below:

Finally, much of Southern Europe has been sweltering in the heat thanks to a heat dome situated over the region.

Amid blistering temperatures, one stood out among the collection. A reading of 48.2°C in Jerzu, Sardinia. Officially marking the hottest July day ever seen in Europe.

The all-time record high remains 48.8°C, set in Sicily on August 11, 2021.

These conditions contributed to the outbreaks of wildfires in Greece. A study released by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health linked the 2022 heatwave to over 61,000 excess deaths. We wait to see how this year will compare.