As southern Ontario rung out the towels from torrential rainfall and flooding, across the world in Athens, the Acropolis – Greece’s biggest cultural attraction – faced a different sort of tumult, closing for several hours in the middle of the day Wednesday, amidst an extreme heat wave in southern Europe that has sent temperatures spiralling.

Authorities shut down Athens’ famed landmark from noon to 5 p.m. while municipalities were making air-conditioned indoor spaces available to the public. People were warned to avoid exposure to the sun during the hottest hours of the day and drink water frequently.

Tourists hoping to visit the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis queued early in the morning to beat the worst of the heat, while the Red Cross handed chilled bottled water and information fliers to those waiting in line.

Meteorologists said the hot air from Africa was forecast to continue baking Greece for several more days and at least through Sunday, with the heat wave peaking on Wednesday and Thursday when temperatures were expected to reach 43 degrees C (109 F).

In neighbouring Italy, authorities added Palermo, Sicily, to the list of 13 cities with a severe heat warning as the entire Italian peninsula broiled in the same heat wave. The list was expected to grow to 14 on Thursday, when the northern city of Bolzano was expected to be added.

In Verona, where temperatures hovered around 35 C, sprinklers in the public park were used to spritz passersby during the late afternoons, and tourists were urged to make use of public water fountains. Flyers recommended elderly people stay indoors during the hottest times of the day and a 24-hour hotline was set up for emergencies.

The hot, dry conditions have also fanned wildfires, across the region, including in Greece, Noth Macedonia, and Turkey.

Turkey’s largest city Istanbul issued a heat warning on Tuesday, saying temperatures would rise between 3-6 degrees C (37-43 F) above seasonal norms until July 28.

To the west in Spain, thermometers were expected to hit 39 degrees C on Wednesday in several Spanish cities, including Granada and Toledo, with temperatures as high as 44 degrees C (111 F) forecast for later in the week in the country’s hottest spots in the south.