Turkey has so far been spared from the heat wave searing Europe but the country’s southeastern provinces are gripped with temperatures at times exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

In Diyarbakır, Mardin and Şırnak, temperatures rose 4 to 5 degrees Celsius this week. On Tuesday, Şırnak’s Cizre district and Mardin’s Nusaybin had the highest temperatures at 44.5 degrees Celsius. By the end of this month, temperatures at the same level are forecast for Mardin and Şırnak while they will fluctuate between 36 and 41 degrees in the provinces of Diyarbakır and Batman.

Suffocating temperatures drive people indoors to air conditioning or outdoors to a cool spot, usually under trees. Most people shun going outdoors between noon and 4 p.m. while top touristic attractions are mostly empty during the day. Landlocked provinces offer little in terms of cooling off and some people jump into decorative pools in the city’s squares.

The extreme heat is particularly troubling for laborers who toil in fields under the blistering rays of the sun. "It is sometimes 45 degrees here and very difficult for us," says Ali Bozan, who works in a cotton field in Mardin’s Kızıltepe. Bozan and others have little protection from the heat, save for hats and occasional breaks for water. "I feel like my brain is melting," Derya Yardım, another laborer says. Gökçe Aydın, who helps her mother in the field, says workers sometimes faint due to heat.

In Şırnak, some businesses are shut down at noon, with streets almost empty while the municipality’s trucks in Cizre spray the streets with water. In the evenings, locals rush to parks on the shores of the Dicle (Tigris) River.

Medical experts warn the public about the risks of high temperatures. Professor Nizamettin Toprak, a cardiology expert from Dicle University in Diyarbakır, says hot weather is particularly problematic for heart patients. "Elderly people, those with high blood pressure and heart problems should exert caution. High temperatures force the heart to work more than normal and this may lead to respiratory problems and heart attacks," he warned.