ATHENS (Reuters) -Firefighters battled to put out wildfires on Monday in three separate provinces in Turkey and near a tourist resort in Albania, stoked by strong winds after days of searing heat across the Mediterranean region.

Wildfires are currently raging in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria amid a 44°C heatwave, ongoing droughts and strong winds. A map from Nasa shows how flames have spread across the region in the last week despite efforts to contain them. What has become clear is that climate change is accelerating the disaster in a region already on the brink.

Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks threatened the country’s fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing more than 1,700 people to flee their homes and leaving a firefighter dead.

Greece and Turkey continue to battle major wildfires amid a severe heatwave. Temperatures reached 42.4C in central Greece at the weekend, with emergency services battling fires in the Peloponnese area of Athens and on the popular tourist islands of Kytheria and Crete.

Mr Yumakli said Turkey broke an all-time temperature record on Friday of 50.5C in the southeastern city of Sirnak. Information published by the country’s General Directorate of Meteorology suggested that temperatures would rise by another 10 degrees from Saturday. The highest temperatures for July were seen in 132 other locations.

TURKEY has been ravaged by fresh wildfires with over 3,500 people forced to flee their homes. Two people have died amid a 50C heatwave in the latest deadly blaze to hit the country. Residents in

By Tuesday, storms are expected across Romania and the Black Sea and temperatures are due to return to normal for most of Greece and western Turkey. Yes, it is safe to travel to the vast majority of the country. While the Foreign Office has not advised against travel, it does warn that wildfires happen frequently in summer.

Wildfires have threatened Bursa, Turkey's fourth-largest city, leading to hundreds of people fleeing their homes. Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa spread rapidly, casting a red glow over the city’s eastern suburbs.