Huge numbers of migrants have already arrived in Europe this year via a number of different routes

Many of them have actually arrived in Europe by land, travelling through the Balkan states into Hungary

But the majority still come via barely seaworthy boats, arriving in southern Italy or the Greek islands

It is estimated that up to 300 migrants arrive on the island of Kos daily - including 6,000 this year alone

But the arrival of migrants from West Africa in the Canary Islands suggests new routes may be opening up

More than 130,000 migrants have already arrived on European shores in 2015, coming from countries as diverse as Syria, Nigeria and Vietnam in a desperate effort to flee warzones, avoid genocide and give their children the best chance to start a new life.

While migrants risking everything on board cramped, barely seaworthy boats bound for Italy and the Greek islands grab the headlines, a number of alternative routes - such as the Canary Islands - have emerged, highlighting locations that could see a surge in migrant arrivals over the coming months.

Italy and Greece remain the most popular destinations however, with each having more than 40,000 arrivals since January.

In fact arrivals of the small Greek holiday island of Kos have already topped 6,000 in 2015 - arriving at a rate of 300 a day - leaving its population of 32,000 wondering how many more people they can take.

In a stark representation of the the sharply rising numbers of migrants heading to Greece, there have already been 32,160 more arrivals in the first five months of 2015 than there were in the whole of 2014. The number heading to the Italy - usually through the island of Sicily and the southern province of Apulia - have stayed relatively stable this year, but have still hit 46,500 in just five months.

Another hugely popular route into Europe is actually overland, with close to 40,000 migrants travelling through the Balkan states up into Hungary, Slovenia and Austria over the past six months.

With thousands of migrants having already drowned in the deceptively appealing waters of the Mediterranean Sea this year, Europe is facing an unprecedented obligation not just to save the lives of desperate men, women and children, but also to work out exactly what can be done to ensure those who survive the perilous voyage, where often the criminal gangs trafficking them can prove as fearsome and ruthless as the sea itself.

While some of the near 130,000 migrants to arrive in Europe this year have arrived in unusual destinations, the vast majority have come on long-established routes - taking advantage of lax security and corrupt officials in North and West Africa and in the Balkan states.

Perhaps the most notorious route is the one between Libya and southern Italy, on which thousands of migrants have already died this year.

With the majority of the 46,500 migrants arriving in Italy having come from sub-Saharan Africa, many have already lost their life savings and spent

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