People in many parts of southern Europe have been suffering from heat, drought and devastating bushfires for days. Forests are already burning in a number of European countries.
14,000 people evacuated in southern France
On the French southern Atlantic coast, people were taken to safety from a major wildfire Sunday night. Campgrounds in the area were affected by fires that erupted on dry land Taste du Buch south of Bordeaux The county responsible again said the risk. According to figures on Saturday evening, there must have been more than 14,000 people in the area and nearby Landeras Because Forest fires Leave their homes or vacation place as a precaution. The fire destroyed a total of 10,500 hectares of land. The fire brigade has been trying in vain to control the flames since Tuesday.
A forest fire near Landeras on July 16, 2022.
Photo: Keystone
UK heat warning
Great Britain is expecting a national heat record at the start of the week. The government declared the disaster and held a National Cobra crisis team meeting. The British Met Office gave one for Monday and Tuesday Red weather warning due to heat Outside – For the first time ever. The temperature is expected to reach 40 degrees in large parts of England. The temperature has so far been recorded at 38.7 degrees.
Hundreds of deaths caused by heat in Spain and Portugal
According to the Aemet meteorological institute, temperatures should rise to more than 40 degrees in large parts of Spain. According to official figures, the number of deaths caused by the heat in Spain and Portugal in the past few days is in the hundreds. In most cases, the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia wrote that the victims were people who were already weakened by their old age or previous illness.
Only from Monday can there be a slight cooling to about 35 degrees in Spain. The situation in Portugal is similar. In the rural areas of the two countries, thousands of people had to flee their homes and farms due to the approach of the flames a few days ago.
“I have burned 130 beehives,” a farmer in the Cáceres region complained to Spanish state television station RTVE. Another stated that his forty sheep and his horse died in a fire, while their livestock died of thirst because they were not allowed to go to their farms.
It is difficult to estimate the damage caused by fires in nature conservation parks and among wild animals. Thousands of firefighters are working non-stop. The crash of a single-engine plane in Portugal on Friday, in which the pilot died, showed just how dangerous it can be.
Strong winds fuel wildfires in Greece
In Greece, 119 forest fires were recorded in the 24 hours from Saturday to Sunday. Most fires are extinguished very quickly, but some turn out to be large fires. Fires continued to burn on Sunday on the island of Crete south of the port city of Rethymno, which already broke out on Friday and among threatened villages that had to be evacuated. The Kathimerini newspaper reported Sunday that although the fire is now under control, the embers are hiding “very cleverly” underground.
The main problem is the sometimes strong winds that blow over the Aegean at this time of year – they can ignite and fuel a near-suffocating fire in no time at all. The Greek fire brigade appreciates it The risk of wildfires in many parts of Greece remains ‘extremely high’ a.
Drought and fires in Italy
In Italy too, fire brigades once again faced wildfires in several places. Italy has been suffering from a severe drought for weeks, which is conducive to the flames. In Bibione after the wide Forest and bush fires on the beach The situation is under control again.
Germany is suffering from drought
In Germany, state politicians are sounding the alarm over drought. “What we are witnessing now is just a small glimpse into the challenges we face As a result of climate change That remains to be done, Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister Olaf Laiss (SPD), said in an interview with Handelsblatt. You have to deal differently with a precious water resource.
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