Europe heatwave: Deadly wildfires spread in Mediterranean
16-07-2022, 13:51

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

Baiao, Portugal: The fires in the north are Portugal's worst since 2017

Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal, Spain and southwestern France, in the grip of a heatwave that shows no sign of easing.

In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border.

Fires are ravaging areas of France's Gironde region, where more than 12,000 people have been evacuated.

In southern Spain, near the Costa del Sol, about 2,300 people had to flee a wildfire spreading in the Mijas hills.

Holidaymakers on the beach in Torremolinos saw big plumes of smoke rising in the hills, where several aircraft were tackling the blaze.

Meanwhile, one local resident described the forest fires near France's south-west Atlantic coast as feeling "post-apocalyptic".

"I've never seen this before," Karyn, who lives near Teste-de-Buch, told news agency AFP.

The fire there and another just south of Bordeaux have ravaged nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres). Some 3,000 firefighters are tackling the blazes.

Since Tuesday, temperatures have soared to 47C in Portugal and above 40C in Spain, leaving the countryside bone dry and fuelling the fires. More than 300 people have died from the heat in both countries, Spain's Efe news agency reports.

The Portuguese pilot who died was flying solo in a Fire Boss amphibious plane.

Portugal's fire hotspots are in the north - east of the city of Porto. Fires have destroyed 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of land this year - the largest area since the summer of 2017, when Portugal suffered devastating fires in which some 100 people died.

Other parts of the Mediterranean are affected too. In Italy, the government has declared a state of emergency in the desiccated Po Valley - the country's longest river is no more than a trickle in some places.

In Greece, firefighters are tackling blazes in the Feriza area, about 50km (31 miles) south-east of Athens, and near Rethymno, on the north coast of Crete. Seven villages have been evacuated near Rethymno.

In northern Morocco, several villages had to be evacuated as fires swept through the Larache, Ouezzane, Taza and Tetouan provinces. One village was totally destroyed in the Ksar El Kebir area and at least one person died in a blaze.

France has also had sweltering heat of about 40C and expects more next week, with 16 departments on orange alert, for severe weather.

The head of France's firefighters' federation has warned of the impact global warming is having on civil protection. "It's firefighters, civil security who deal with the effects on a daily basis - and these effects aren't in 2030, they're right now," said Grégory Allione.

Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to carbon emissions.

 

BBC

Comments: 655
#655   Mikel
      
References:


Online casino sofort ohne oasis https://comsenz-service.com/?182437
25 September 2026 03:11
#654   Duane
      
References:


Legale sofort casinos deutschland https://comsenz-service.com/
24 September 2026 09:17
#653   Ima
      
References:


Online slots sofortüberweisung canadaasians.com
24 September 2026 06:00
#652   Boris
      
24 September 2026 05:17
#651   Warner
      
References:


Casino mit klarna sofortüberweisung https://rdcvw.com/?514225
24 September 2026 04:49
#650   Melanie
      
References:


Spielhalle mit sofortüberweisung online casino
mit sofort
24 September 2026 01:46
#649   Evelyn
      
References:


Spielothek mit sofortüberweisung https://materialwiki.site
22 September 2026 13:17
#648   Joie
      
References:


Online casinos mit sofort bbs.pku.edu.cn
22 September 2026 04:03
#647   Azucena
      
References:


Online casino sofortüberweisung limit https://coolpot.stream
22 September 2026 02:42
#646   Yvette
      
References:


Bonus casino sofort casino mit sofort erfahrungen
22 September 2026 00:33
#645   Aiden
      
References:


MiFinity casino bonus Australia deposit with
MiFinity casino Australia
21 September 2026 04:48
#644   Karri
      
References:


Play live roulette with MiFinity Australia MiFinity withdrawal casino Australia
20 September 2026 17:51
#643   Melanie
      
20 September 2026 16:40
#642   Kayleigh
      
References:


Payid pokies fast payout 5 dollar deposit pokies payid
19 September 2026 04:43
#641   Addie
      
References:


Direct bank transfer payid pokies free payid pokies
18 September 2026 15:47
#640   Pamala
      
References:


10 dollar deposit pokies payid desktop
payid pokies
18 September 2026 13:35
#639   Celinda
      
References:


Top payid pokies australia online pokies that accept payid
16 September 2026 03:10
#638   Lenora
      
References:


Best online pokies payid mensvault.men
15 September 2026 00:55
#637   Rochell
      
References:


Same day payout pokies payid markdown.iv.cs.uni-bonn.de
14 September 2026 11:23
#636   Tanisha
      
References:


Trusted payid pokies australia https://aryba.kg/user/artcable8/
14 September 2026 11:02
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *


Back1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... 33Next