Turkey faces 'truly great disaster', warns Erdogan amid raging wildfires and sweltering temperatures across Europe

Disaster zones have been declared in two provinces of Turkey as new wildfires broke out on the Mediterranean coast.

Smoke billowed across the sky in the popular resort of Antalya, with homes evacuated in the city centre and elsewhere.

In the nearby city of Manavgat locals grabbed hoses and buckets to help firefighters, with aircraft dumping water from above.

Other wildfires started on Friday in Adana and Mersin, further east along the coast.

Turkey's interior minister declared the western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik "disaster areas" after a month of fires in the country.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said on Friday that the country faced "a truly great disaster" and that 25,000 people were involved in the emergency effort.

Thirteen people have been killed so far, including 10 volunteers and forestry workers in the central Eskisehir province on Wednesday.

Cyprus has also been enduring one of its worst wildfires in living memory. Temperatures have reached 43C (109F) on the island this week.

Two people were found dead in their car on Wednesday and scores of homes have been destroyed.

Spain, Egypt, Jordan and Israel were providing assistance, and planes from the RAF base on the island were also helping.

Elsewhere in southern Europe, firefighters in Albania have been dealing with a blaze in the mountainous forests near Elbasan.

The devastating fires come amid dry, sweltering temperatures in southern parts of the continent.

Greece's iconic Acropolis was forced to limit its hours this week as it approached the mid-40s, while there's also been intense heat in the Balkans.

And it's not only southern Europe that's been getting abnormal heat: Finland broke a record this week after experiencing 14 straight days above 30C.

The previous record of 13 days was set in 1972.

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Respite looks to be ahead, however, with many areas expected to cool to more usual levels next week.

Most experts attribute the above-average temperatures for this time of year to human-caused climate change and say wildfires are likely to become more frequent.

2024 was the warmest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5C above the pre-industrial era for the first time.

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