TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Wildfires raging near Marseille, France, have disrupted flight schedules in the port city, with some residents facing evacuation and others advised to take shelter indoors. As the country's second-largest city, Marseille is a popular destination for tourism and culinary exploration.

To cool down, nuclear power plants pump water from local rivers or the sea, which they then release back into water bodies at a higher temperature. However, this process can threaten local biodiversity if water is released which is too hot.

Sixteen departments have been placed on red alert, the highest level of warning, and 68 on orange alert as France faces the peak of a lengthy heatwave, which has already lasted 13 days.

According to France’s national environment agency Ademe, only 25 per cent of French homes had air conditioning in 2020 which was 14 per cent up from 2016.

Italy limited work outdoors, France shut schools and Turkey battled wildfires on Tuesday in a European heatwave that meteorologists said was "exceptional" for striking so early this year.

Paris was on red alert for high temperatures on Tuesday, with the top of the Eiffel Tower shut, polluting traffic banned and speed restrictions in place as a searing heatwave gripped Europe.Mediterranean countries from the Iberian peninsula through France and Italy to the Balkans and Greece have been sweltering in a heatwave for several days,

Rome and Paris zoos served up frozen treats to its animals on Wednesday as the European capitals were caught in a severe heat wave.

Wildfires have killed two people in Spain and two others have died in France because of a heatwave that has gripped Europe and forced the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.With scorching temperatures again on Wednesday,

The Acropolis is closing temporarily on Tuesday as soaring temperatures continue to grip Greece. The popular site in the capital city of Athens was shutting from 13:00-17:00 local time (11:00-15:00 BST), the country's culture ministry said.

A wildfire in southern France that forced Marseille airport to close and interrupted train traffic has not been fully contained, the country’s interior minister said. Several forest fires have raged in recent days in southern France,