Western Europe fights fires and braces for record heatwave

Several Western European countries, including France and Spain, continued to fight against devastating forest firestriggered by a heat wave that could break temperature records in the coming days.

According to scientists, there is a direct relationship between heat waves and the climate changeas greenhouse gas emissions increase in intensity, duration and frequency.

In Spain, around 20 forest fires were still active and out of control in different parts of the country, from south to north.

In Galicia (northwest) the fires devastated some 4,500 hectares during the week, according to authorities.

disasters

And in the province of Malaga, in Andalusia (south), the fire brigades managed to stabilize a fire in the Sierra de Mijas, which destroyed some 2,000 hectares, local authorities said.

The forced flames evacuate just over 3,000 peoplebut 2,000 were able to return to their homes.

“We haven’t stopped working all night,” Andalusian Agriculture Minister Carmen Crespo told public television, referring to the work of the fire brigade.

The meteorological agency had predicted “Remarkably high” temperatures. in most of the territory. It was the town of Don Benito, near Badajoz (west), which recorded the highest temperature in the country, with 43.4 ºC.

In Madrid, a cleaning employee died on Saturday after suffering heat stroke while working, according to local authorities.

In Portugal, the neighboring country, only one major fire was considered active, near the municipality of Chaves, in the far north of the country. It is “practically controlled” in 90% of its perimeter, according to the Civil Protection.

However, almost the entire Portuguese territory presented a “maximum” risk on Sunday, “very high” or “high” of fires, especially in the central-northern inland regions.

The Portuguese Meteorological Institute did not issue a red alert for the heat on Sunday.

Greece and France

The fires last week resulted in two deaths and around 60 injuries, according to the latest toll from the authorities. the flames swept between 12,000 and 15,000 hectaresaccording to the calculations.

In Greece, another country where fires broke out in recent days, the authorities has decided to evacuate seven villages in advance in an area of ​​the prefecture of Rethymnon, in Crete. However, the fire declared on Friday on that island is under control, indicated the Civil Protection.

In France the situation is critical. In the south-west of the country, firefighters continue to fight against two fires that since Tuesday have devastated nearly 11,000 hectares in the Bordeaux region, an area equivalent to that of Paris, engineer Guillaume Rozier told AFP.

According to the meteorological agency Météo-France, temperatures could reach 40ºC in that area. On Sunday, 51 departments were under orange surveillance for high temperatures and 15 under red surveillance, the highest.

“The heat is on the rise, the heat wave is spreading across the country”, warned the aforementioned agency. Authorities predict that Monday will be the “hottest day in the west of the country”, with temperatures likely to exceed 40ºC in Brittany, Lower Normandy, Aquitaine and western Occitania.

In the tourist bay of Arcachon, on the shores of the Atlantic, the firefighters managed to stop the advance of the fire, although in the early hours of Sunday “several new fires threatened the campsites of the dunes of Pilat, which had to be evacuated, “said the prefecture of the Gironde department on Twitter.

In the Teste-de-Buch area, the flames progressed overnight and devastated 3,400 hectares. Farther west, near Landiras, the fires have lost intensity thanks to an “effective strategy” of setting up “tactical fires and creating fire breaks,” explained a spokesman for the fire brigade. About 7,100 hectares have already been burned.

Temperatures do not drop even in the UK, where authorities have issued the first national emergency for extreme heat.

This “red” warning implies a “risk to life”, according to the meteorological office. In southern England, temperatures could rise above 40 ° C for the first time on Monday or Tuesday.

And in the Netherlands, the organizers of a four-day hiking trail canceled the first day of the event which was supposed to start on Tuesday due to extreme heat.

On Tuesday, mercury will reach 38ºC in some areas of the country.

AFP agency

PB