Fires have raged due to hot winds, sweeping across southern Italy on Thursday, a day after a monitoring station in Sicily reported an increase in temperatures to 48.8 Celsius, a number some scientists believe could be the highest in the history of Europe. 

"If the data is validated, it could become the highest value ever recorded in Europe, beating the previous record of 48 degrees measured in Athens on July 10, 1977," meteorologist Manuel Mazzoleni wrote on 3Bmeteo.com.

Firemen wrote on Twitter that they had carried out more than 500 operations in Sicily and Calabria in the last 12 hours, sending five planes to help in putting out the flames. 

Local media reported that trees and land were burning in the Madonie mountains some 100 km from the Sicilian capital of Palermo and in the small town of Linguaglossa, on the slopes of the Etna volcano.

Damage has also been reported in Calabria, where some families left their homes, and a man died on Wednesday.

Several Italian cities are expected to witness a rise in temperatures, including the capital Rome on Friday, as the heatwave reaches its peak.