Britons begin cancelling travel plans as Europe burns in Cerberus heatwave
British holidaymakers are changing their travel plans as temperatures soar to record-highs and more than two thousand people in the Canary Islands flee from wildfires. Sweltering heat sweeping across , and could bring 'potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe' to the region this week as locals and travellers battle what meteorologists have dubbed the 'most intense heatwave of the summer'. one of Greece's top tourist attractions, will close during the hottest hours on Sunday, for the third day running. Spanish officials on Saturday had evacuated more than 2,500 people from Palma in the Canary Islands, where a wildfire has destroyed 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of land. Britons who had booked European holidays this week now say they are changing their travel plans because they are 'worried about my health' and don't want anything bad to happen while on holiday. Some travellers said they had to cancel their trip altogether, while others claim they went on holiday but were forced to 'stay in our room most of the day' due to the unbearable temperatures, reported. Some holidaymakers are just planning to change outings and activities, while others are trying to instead move their holiday to regions with milder climates. Much of Southern Europe has been engulfed by a severe heatwave named Cerberus after the hound of Hades from Greek mythology. Justine Rush, 53, is currently on holiday in Corfu with her husband and two teenagers. She told the newspaper that their family expected heat, but not temperatures make it 'too hot to go outside in the day'. Ms Rush, whose family was forced to spend most of their day cooped up in their accommodation, said that despite not enjoying beach days, 'we can't do anything else'. They cancelled a day trip to a nearby town and will instead lounge by the sea. Paola Deitan, 29, shared how she and her friend were meant to travel to Greece but are now going to Barcelona due to its more mild climate. 'Obviously, I am worried about my health,' she told The Guardian. 'I don't want anything to happen to me while on holiday.' Another traveller, who is on a cruise around the Mediterranean with her university-aged son, said the heatwave has put her off from taking another European holiday. The 61-year-old, who booked on-land excursions, fears they will have to 'stay on the boat the whole time because it will be too hot to do anything'. She added: 'We usually do our holidays in England but we wanted something different this year. I don't think I will do this again or maybe we'll make such plans around Easter instead.' Italy faces weekend predictions of historic highs with the health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence. The weather centre warned Italians to prepare for 'the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time'. The thermometer is likely to hit 40C (104F) in Rome by Monday and even 43C (109F) on Tuesday, smashing the record of 40.5C (105F) set in August 2007. The islands of Sicily and Sardinia could wilt under temperatures as high as 48C (118F), the European Space Agency warned - 'potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe'. The Acropolis in Athens, one of Greece's top tourist attractions, will close during the hottest hours on Sunday, for the third day running. In France, high temperatures and resulting drought are posing a threat to the farming industry, earning Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau criticism from climatologists for having brushed aside conditions as 'normal enough for summer'. This June was the second-hottest on record in France, according to the national weather agency, and several areas of the country have been under a heatwave alert since Tuesday. There is little reprieve ahead for Spain, whose meteorological agency warned that a new heatwave Monday through Wednesday will bring temperatures above 40C to the Canary Islands and the southern Andalusia region. Spanish officials said Saturday they had evacuated more than 2,500 people from La Palma in the Canary Islands, where fire has destroyed 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of land. At least 11 houses were destroyed in the inferno which started in the early hours in El Pinar de Puntagorda a wooded area in the north of the Canary Island, which is popular with British holidaymakers. Around 300 firefighters on the ground are working to bring the blaze under control, supported by firefighting aircraft, they added. 'The fire advanced very quickly,' said Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands regional government. He blamed 'the wind, the climate conditions as well as the heatwave that we are living through' for the swift spread of the blaze. 'It's a fire that has gathered strength in very little time,' Tourism Minister Hector Gomez told reporters. Sergio Rodriguez, head of the La Palma Council and the island's main authority, called on people to respect the evacuation to allow the emergency services to work more easily. The fire broke out in the morning in the Puntagorda district on Saturday before spreading quickly, said a statement from local officials. Tijarafe's mayor, Marcos Lorenzo, told TVE television that not all the town had been evacuated. According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), Spain suffered nearly 500 wildfires in 2022, which destroyed more than 300,000 hectares, the worst figure in Europe. So far this year, it has lost another 66,000 hectares to fire, according to the latest EFFIS data. The situation is all the more worrying in a country that has been hit hard by the effects of climate change, with a series of crushing heatwaves as well as less and less rainfall. The national meteorological agency also registered record highs during exceptionally hot weather in mainland Spain. The wildfire and evacuations come nearly two years after a three-month volcanic eruption caused devastation on La Palma. While nobody was killed, around 3,000 buildings were buried along with many banana plantations, roads and irrigation systems. The fire is on the western side of La Palma on wooded, hilly terrain dotted with homes. It is not an area directly impacted by the 2021 volcanic eruption. Puntagorda's mayor, Vicente Rodriguez, told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE the fire started inside the limits of his municipality. He said the area has seen below-average rainfall in recent years, just like large parts of the drought-stricken mainland, because of changing weather patterns impacted by climate change. Authorities and forestry experts are concerned that the conditions are ripe for a difficult wildfire campaign after seeing virulent fires as early as March. La Palma, with a population of 85,000, is one of eight members of Spain's Canary Islands archipelago off Africa's western coast. At their nearest point, the islands are 60 miles from Morocco. Tens of millions of people around the globe are battling dangerously high temperatures this week as meteorologists predict record heat forecasts. Authorities have been sounding the alarm, advising people to avoid outdoor activities in the daytime and to be wary of dehydration. Earlier this week, a man was said to have collapsed and later died in Lodi, near Milan, due to the extreme weather. Fires broke out in Croatia on Thursday, with houses and cars burnt down in at least one village. Greece also struggled in the heat, with the Acropolis closed to visitors and the Red Cross handing out water bottles. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 73, fell victim to the heat and was taken to hospital for apparent dehydration. He admitted that it was 'not a good idea' to be out in the sun without a hat or water. He added he felt 'very good' last night, but remained in hospital. Another heatwave, called Charon, after the mythical ferryman to the underworld, is feared to be bringing more severe temperatures. Europe experienced the hottest-ever summer on record last year, and analysis published in the journal Nature Medicine now reveals that more than 61,000 people died across the Continent due to heat. But the European Space Agency has warned that 'this summer is likely to be worse'. Land temperatures - how hot the ground is to touch - in Spain reached upwards of 60C (140F) in parts of southern Spain on Thursday, with the European Space Agency warning next week could break continental records. Extreme weather resulting from a warming climate is 'unfortunately becoming the new normal,' warned Secretary-General Petteri Taalas of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). In response, 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, said. 'It's not that much hotter than it is currently at home, but yes, it is difficult.' The devastating effects of the heatwave has been seen across Europe, with wildfires ripping across Croatia and a 44-year-old road sign worker dying due to the heat in Italy. The 44-year-old Italian man, who has not been named, collapsed on Tuesday due to the heat in the Italian city of Lodi, southeast Milan, as temperatures soared to above 40C (104F). The worker, who has not been named, later died in hospital. 'We are facing an unbearable heatwave,' Italian politician Nicola Fratoianni said. 'Dying from the heat is unthinkable - we should be taking measures to avoid tragedies like this in the hottest hours of the day.' Italian authorities have now or travel unnecessarily to reduce risk. 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. Excessive heat is one of the deadliest meteorological events, according to the WMO. One recent study estimates over 61,000 people died from heat during Europe's record-breaking summer last year.