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Holidaymakers heading to Greece have been issued an urgent travel warning as extreme temperatures sweep the country.
As one of the most popular tourist spots in Europe, the Greek islands will soon be inundated with travellers heading to the Mediterranean as the summer holiday season gets underway.
However, local authorities have warned tourists to be vigilant as scorching heatwaves have prompted an excessive heat warning to be issued until 8pm on Thursday.
Temperatures are expected to soar to over 43C during the heatwave, which has caused schools to close and tourist spots such as the Acropolis to close as tarmac in some places has heated up to over 70C.
Temperatures in Greece are expected to reach 43C this week (Picture: AP)
The surging temperatures are said to be caused by southerly winds bringing hot air from North Africa.
The Aegean Sea will likely be hit hardest by the heatwave, boosting the risk of wildfires.
According to the Met Office, temperatures will exceed 40°C in the capital of Athens on Thursday, with ‘sunny intervals’ and clouds expected throughout the day.
‘Those still looking for some heat, but prefer it a little cooler should visit in spring or autumn,’ the website added.
A major heatwave is expected to sweep the Greek islands this week (Picture: Shutterstock)
Tourist spots such as the Acropolis have been closed (Picture: Reuters)
Passengers onboard a flight to Qatar from Greece were left trapped on a ‘sauna’ plane for over three hours on Wednesday after their aircraft was grounded on the tarmac.
Onboard footage shows passengers sweating profusely and struggling to breathe as they were trapped on the craft without air conditioning due to a technical fault.
Videos show red-faced passengers peeling off their clothes drenched with sweat, while others were seen collapsed on their seats while people stood over them and fanned their faces.
It comes as a range of extreme weather warnings have been issued across Europe, with parts of Spain grinding to a halt after they were hit with flash floods which prevented flights from taking off earlier this week.
A yellow weather warning has been issued in Murcia, in southeastern Spain, where 25 litres of rain are expected over the coming days.
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