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Firefighters battled wildfires in Spain and Portugal on Tuesday. Western Europe faces a second heat wave in weeks, threatening the glaciers and exacerbating drought in the Alps.
Since Sunday, temperatures have risen above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Iberian Peninsula.
“We expect it to get worse,” Clare Nulis, spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization, said in Geneva on Tuesday.
“With this heat, there is a drought. We have very, very dry soil. ”
“The glaciers in the Alps are now being punished. It was a bad time for snow. And we are still relatively early in the summer.
Extreme levels of snow and ice melt in the Italian Alps last week killed at least 11 people.
Due to climate change, heat waves are becoming more frequent, say scientists. As global warming progresses, heat waves are expected to become more intense.
The first heat wave in France, Portugal, and Spain occurred in mid-June.
About 300 firefighters, backed by 17 planes and helicopters in Spain, are battling a wildfire that has devastated 2,500 hectares (6,180 hectares of land) in the eastern region of Ekaterinburg.
The fire, which started on Monday, was “probably lasting for several days,” said Guillermo Fernandez Vara, chief of the Ekramadura region.
‘Oppressor’
He predicts that temperatures in Spain will continue to rise until Thursday, with temperatures reaching 44C in the Guadalupe Valley in southern Seville.
The Spanish Ministry of Health has warned that “extreme heat” could affect people’s “vital functions” and cause problems such as overheating.
He advised people to drink water frequently, wear light clothing and “stay in the shade or air conditioning” as much as possible.
People working outside the home are struggling.
Miguel Angel Nunez, 54, who works at a construction site in central Madrid, said: “It’s very difficult because the temperature is a little oppressive.”
In neighboring Portugal, firefighters have been battling a blaze that has engulfed 2,000 hectares of land in Orem’s central municipality since Thursday.
The fire was extinguished on Monday but re-ignited on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa called for “extreme caution” as temperatures in much of the country exceeded 40C.
“Affects people’s health”
“We’ve had similar situations before and we will definitely face them in the future,” he said.
The government has issued a “state of emergency” for wildfires until at least Friday, raising the level of readiness of firefighters, police and emergency services.
The current situation It is reminiscent of a devastating wildfire in 2017 that killed more than 100 people in Portugal.
Authorities in the town of Sintra, near Lisbon, have closed a series of tourist attractions, including palaces and monuments, in the lush mountainous region known to visitors.
The National Weather Service Meto France predicts that temperatures could rise to 39C in some areas of France on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Elizabeth Born urged all government ministers to be prepared for the effects of heat waves that can last up to 10 days.
“Heat quickly affects people’s health, especially the most vulnerable,” the office said in a statement.
Britain has issued a high temperature warning, with forecasts expected to reach 35C in the coming days.
The high temperature warning is classified as “amber” which indicates “significant impact” on daily life and people.
(AFP)
