MADRID, July 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A heatwave spreading across Europe is fuelling wildfires in Portugal, France and Spain.
Around 3,500 firefighters in Portugal are battling dozens of blazes, as temperatures break records in various parts of the country.
The worst has been reported in Leiria, where 600 people were forced out of their homes.
It has triggered memories of deadly wildfires in 2017, which claimed the lives of more than 100 people.
Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and longer-lasting because of climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began.
In France, about 1,000 firefighters are trying control two major wildfires. The blazes in the south-west of the country have already burned almost 4,000 hectares.
Most of Spain was put on high alert, and the country’s state meteorological agency AEMET said some regions were “suffocating”. The Andalusian town of Almonte recorded a temperature of 45.6C on Wednesday.
More than 70,300 hectares were burned in Spain between Jan 1 and July 3, the government said – almost double the average of the past 10 years.
More than 3,000 people have been evacuated in Turkiye due to a wildfire in the south-western Datca peninsula.
Italy, Croatia, France and Portugal all reported forest fires linked to the heat this week.
In Greece, a helicopter helping to fight a forest fire on the island of Samos on Wednesday crashed into the Aegean Sea, killing two crew members, the coastguard said Thursday.
In Portugal, over 2,000 firefighters were battling dozens of wildfires across Portugal, including four deemed “major”.
One person died in a forest blaze, authorities said Wednesday, after a body was found in a burned area in the northern region of Aveiro.
Around 60 others have been injured, some 860 people evacuated and roughly 60 homes destroyed or damaged.
Although temperatures eased by a few degrees Celsius across France, wildfires continued in the Gironde region near the southwestern city of Bordeaux, destroying some 3,700 hectares of forest in three days, with firefighters still unable Thursday to stop the blazes.
Tourist magnet the Dune de Pilat, Europe’s highest sand dune, was closed to visitors after several thousands were evacuated from campsites this week. “The situation is stable, but not yet under control,” the region’s
authorities said Thursday as temperatures were forecast to hit 38C.
However, no additional evacuation of residents was planned, after hundreds were moved from their homes in recent days as a precaution in the region.
London meanwhile has issued an “amber” alert — the second highest of three levels — while one UK climate official said there was a chance Britain’s highest temperature — 38.7C recorded on July 25, 2019 in Cambridge — could be
surpassed.
London mayor Sadiq Khan announced an emergency plan to help homeless people deal with the extreme heat which includes distributing water and suntan lotion. — NNN-AGENCIES
