In an eerie reminder of life in Greece during the Covid-19 lockdowns, the chairs at the sidewalk cafes all over Athens are mostly empty. It is simply too hot to sit outside until after the sun sets. As smoke streams in above the hazy Athenian sky from fires burning out of control nearby, locals are now wondering aloud whether the summer of unprecedented heat will ever end.

So far the answer appears to be “no.” Evening winds fueled a major wildfire just west of Greece’s capital Thursday, triggering a series of new evacuations outside Athens as authorities braced for more of the extreme weather that has brought searing heat to southern Europe.