Firefighters battled to contain wildfires sweeping across southwest Europe on Sunday as a heat wave showed no sign of abating, with Britain poised to set new temperature records.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee and thousands of hectares of land have been destroyed by the fires.
The second heat wave to hit parts of southwest Europe is over. Climate change is predicted to cause more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather.
There are at least 20 fires raging out of control in different parts of the country from the south to the far northwest.
🔥 A fire started in the early afternoon of July 11 is affecting the Natural Park of Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia in #Spain.@CopernicusEMS services have been activated to provide maps: https://t.co/VWrkcWxLqM
📸 @CopernicusEU #Sentinel2 image from 13 July pic.twitter.com/R8it1qNj0g
— ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) July 15, 2022
The fires have killed several emergency personnel since last week, most recently a fireman who died fighting a blaze in northwestern Spain.
In southwestern France, firefighters were fighting to control forest fires that have devoured over 11,000 hectares since Tuesday.
More than 16,000 people were forced to leave their homes due to the fires in France. Emergency shelters have been set up for people who have fled their homes.
France's interior ministry plans to send more firefighters and trucks.
New heat records are expected to be set on Monday in parts of southern France.
It will be a heat apocalypse in some southwestern areas.
France put 15 departments, mostly down its western seaboard, on red alert on Sunday, while 51 were on orange high alert.
The chapel of a historic hospital in the southeastern city of Lyon, Grand Hotel Dieu, gave refuge to tourists on Sunday.
It's too hot outside and we can't leave. He joked that they said a prayer before the fire.
The Tour de France's 15th stage between Rodez and Carcassonne in southern France was described by a French cyclist as being very difficult.
I have never seen a day like that on a bike. It wasn't a picnic.
Europe continues to face extreme temperatures, making the fight against forest fires even more difficult.
Fire Danger Forecast for 17 July pic.twitter.com/9sbhaDIp2H
— Daniel Puglisi (@daniel_puglisi) July 17, 2022
The southern region of Andalusia was ravaged by a fire that destroyed 2,000 hectares of woods and bushes.
The Mijas mountain range is inland from the southern coastal city of Malaga and it was the cause of the fire.
Now that the fire is under control, around 2,000 people have returned to their homes.
The regional government said that a fireman died from burns while fighting a fire.
The Prime Minister of Spain expressed his sympathies to the man's family.
There are no words to thank the people who fight fires. He added in a message that the person had passed away.
The eastern region of Extremadura has been ravaged by several fires for days.
Two crew members died in Greece when their helicopter fell into the sea, and a pilot was killed in northern Portugal when his plane crashed.
Two men died of heat related causes in Spain over the weekend.
Local emergency services said a 50-year-old man died on Sunday after suffering heat stroke while out for a walk.
A 60-year-old street cleaner in Madrid died of heat stroke on Saturday.
The smoke from the wildfire is seen by neighbours in Alhaurin de la Torre. The images were taken byJorge Guerrero.
In Portugal, almost the entire country remained on high alert for wildfires despite a slight drop in temperatures after hitting a record for the month of July.
There was only one fire in the north on Sunday.
Between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares of land in Portugal have been destroyed by the fires.
The weather office in the United Kingdom issued a red warning for extreme heat.
Some schools will stay closed next week after the Met Office said temperatures in southern England could go over 40 degrees for the first time.
Extreme heat forced the cancellation of the first day of the mass march in the Netherlands.
In parts of the Netherlands, the mercury is going to reach 38 degrees.
Agence France- Presse.
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