Greek villages bordering forest land have been worst hit by fires

Two more people have died in Greece amid soaring summer temperatures
that have brought forest fires and power outages to South-East Europe.

The worst blazes in Greece were reported near Aegio in the south, on the
island of Cephallonia and near the border with Macedonia and Albania.

Large swathes of forest have also been burnt in Bulgaria, Italy and
Macedonia.

Hundreds of deaths have been blamed on the extreme heat, which is due to
give way to cooler weather by the weekend.

Maps: Why this summer has seen such extreme weather

The temperature has already eased in Hungary, where some 500 people are
estimated to have died as a result of the heatwave.

In Greece, hundreds of people have been evacuated from areas at risk
from fires in the Peloponnese and on the holiday island of Cephallonia.

At least two people died after being trapped in fires on Wednesday.

One of the biggest blazes, near the southern town of Aegio, destroyed
homes in at least eight villages and forced the temporary closure of the
highway linking Athens to the port of Patras.

Meanwhile in northern Europe, the UK has seen unseasonably heavy
rainfall and severe flooding.

South-East Europe's heat and the UK's wet weather have both been blamed
on changes in the jet stream - a seasonal band of air from the Atlantic
that has taken a more southerly path across Europe this year.

'Many fires on many fronts'

Greece's electricity grid has been close to breaking point as demand has
soared. Searing temperatures have also evaporated rivers used to create
hydro-electric power.

Health risks in a heatwave

The authorities have urged people to limit their use of air conditioners
to avoid putting a strain on electricity supplies.

"We ask for citizens' understanding," Development Minister Dimitris
Sioufas told the Associated Press news agency.

"Only with their co-operation can we cope with extreme weather
conditions that have not appeared in our country for decades."

Greece is battling forest fires in several areas.

"We're facing an extremely difficult situation - many fires on many
fronts in many parts of the country," fire service spokesman Yiannis
Stamoulis told the Associated Press.