In contrast to the rather cool, unsettled and unseasonably windy weather in the UK, large parts of southern Europe are in the grip of intense and dangerous heatwave conditions. Temperatures reached the mid to high 30s celsius last week, in what was named by the Italian Meteorological Society as the Cerberus heatwave. A temperature of 44.8C (112.6F) was observed in Almería, Spain, on Wednesday. By Saturday, temperatures were peaking at 41C in Greece, 44C in Turkey and 39C in southern Germany. These extreme temperatures forced authorities to close the Acropolis in Athens during the hottest part of the day to protect tourists. Elsewhere, a large forest fire on La Palma destroyed at least 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of land and forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 people. Temperatures are set to intensify this week as heatwave Charon develops, and in some locations may approach European records. The heat has been building as a result of a large area of high pressure across central parts of Mediterranean, and even hotter conditions will develop as a surge of high temperatures moves in from north Africa. The hottest places will be across Spain, Italy, Greece and parts of the Balkans. The Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia may approach 48C on Tuesday and Wednesday, close to the all-time European record of 48.8C set in Sicily in August 2021. Record-breaking heat is also expected in Rome. Meanwhile, at least 37 people died after days of heavy rain led to severe flooding and landslides in central South Korea on Friday and Saturday. North Gyeongsang province was one of the worst-affected areas. Heavy rain swept away cars and submerged roads and a landslide caused the derailment of a train in North Chungcheong. Flood water trapped people in a tunnel near the city of Cheongju, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate and tens of thousands of homes and businesses have been left without electricity. Further heavy rainfall is expected on Monday and Tuesday but conditions should improve later in the week.