Wildfire kills two in northern Greece; heat and storms hit France, Romania

A wildfire that began in bushland near the village of Liti killed two people and injured a woman on Tuesday afternoon. The fire spread quickly in strong winds and engulfed a house about 25 km from Thessaloniki, the fire brigade said. Responders found one body outside the structure and a second inside while extinguishing the blaze.

Authorities had directed residents to evacuate to a nearby playing field.

France reports excess deaths from early heat The French Health Ministry said the country recorded at least 300 excess deaths during unusually early heatwaves in May. The preliminary estimate, based on unconsolidated mortality data, mostly involved people aged 75 and over.

Meteo-France reported that May 26 was the hottest day in May on record, with a national average temperature of 24.9 degrees Celsius.

Storm strikes Romania after heat wave A powerful storm moved through Bucharest and 20 counties on Wednesday, killing one person, damaging dozens of homes and vehicles, and flooding metro stations. Emergency services received nearly 2,000 calls for help in the capital alone.

Outside Bucharest, the storm affected 60 towns and villages; one fatality occurred when a tree fell on a vehicle. Police and firefighters evacuated flooded homes and cleared debris across several counties. The storm followed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on Monday and Tuesday that increased power demand and raised electricity prices.