Europe: Thousands of firefighters are still battling wildfires in Portugal, Spain and France as the heat wave shows no sign of abating.
Portugal- According to Portuguese authorities, the pilot of the water bomber died in a crash in the Foz Coa region of northern Portugal, not far from the Spanish border. At least 238 heat-related deaths have occurred since last week.
The missing Portuguese pilot was operating a Fire Boss amphibious aircraft alone.
The most fire-prone areas of Portugal are north and east of Porto. This year’s fires have destroyed 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of land, the largest since the devastating fires that swept through Portugal in the summer of 2017, killing nearly 100 people.
Spanish farmer Gemma Suarez, who was taken from Casas de Miravet, wept as she told Reuters: “What a night, we didn’t get any sleep last night.”
“I was visited by a social worker who wanted to take my elderly uncle. We spent the night in Navalmoral, but we did not get any rest. I have never seen a fire of such magnitude.
France- More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from the Gironde region in southwestern France as wildfires rage in the area. Heat waves are more frequent, more intense and longer due to human-induced climate change. Since the start of the industrial age, the world has warmed by around 1.1C, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments drastically reduce carbon emissions.
According to the French weather service, some parts of France are expected to reach 41 degrees on Sunday, with temperatures expected to break the previous record on Monday. 22 more state departments, mostly along the country’s Atlantic coast, were placed on high orange alert late Saturday.
Spain- According to La Vanguardia, the heat wave that hit Spain for several days has killed at least 360 people. The country’s record-breaking heat is said to have caused 123 deaths on Friday alone.
The city of Madrid reported 22 deaths out of a total of 360, and a 60-year-old municipal cleaner died on the job on Saturday.
There were 15 heat-related deaths on July 10, the first day of the heat wave. From then on, many people died every day. Temperatures in some parts of the country were above 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, bringing the daily death toll to 60.
On Thursday, Madrid-Barajas Airport recorded its highest temperature for July, reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 C). On Thursday, Spain reported 93 heat-related deaths.
Since Friday, July 8, the heat has been baking Portugal and Spain, often topping 100F (38 C). One of the hottest places was Seville, Spain, where the temperature was above 105 F (41 C) for nine consecutive days.
People have been displaced from their homes as a powerful air wave has started wildfires in Europe.
China, America and Europe have been affected by dangerous heat waves.
