The Greek Government has activated a civil emergency plan to deal with a heatwave sweeping the country, along with the rest of the Balkan peninsula. Temperatures are expected to reach at least 39 degrees Celsius today and at least 43 degrees before the heatwave passes later this week. So this time the Greek Government is taking no chances. It has activated a civil defence plan, opening hospitals around the clock and cancelling leave for ambulance drivers.
Doctors are available on special help lines to tell people how to deal with the heat.
Local councils have started a special service, sending out buses to collect vulnerable people, such as the elderly, and bringing them to sit in public buildings with air conditioning during the hottest part of the day. Advice Shopping centres with air conditioning have also been told to stay open longer. Greek television stations are carrying special heatwave bulletins every hour, giving updates on how high the temperature has climbed and dispensing advice on how to keep cool. The authorities are also very worried about the risk of fires, which devastated large tracts of forest in Greece last year, and the fire service is on heightened alert. Most of Athens seems to have left for the beach, but the official advice to Greeks and to visiting tourists is to take a nap at midday to stay out of the sun.