Europe wildfires : There might be a thunderstorm in upcoming days but rain may evaporate even before touching the ground
Since the start of the industrial age, the planet has warmed by around 1.1 degrees Celsius. An exceptionally hot summer in southern Europe has sparked destructive wildfires that have burned out homes, forests, and other major infrastructure from Turkey to Spain.
PortugalÂ
Portugal’s 3,500 firefighters are putting out waves of fires as record-breaking heat spreads across the nation. The government has placed the entire mainland under a “state of contingency” through Friday, the second-highest of three degrees and one step above “state of alert.” Leiria, where 600 people were evicted from their homes, has been the site of the worst incidents.
The weekend’s major fires have all been put out or brought under control, but after blazing over thousands of hectares of forest. There may be some thunderstorms, but the weather service advises that any rain may evaporate before it reaches the ground. It brought back memories of the devastating wildfires that occurred in 2017 and took the lives of more than 100 people.
Spain
The majority of Spain was set on high alert on Wednesday, and certain areas were described as “suffocating” by the nation’s official meteorological office, AEMET. On Wednesday, Almonte, an Andalusian town, registered a temperature of 45.6C. The heatwave could set long records if it lasts into next week since it is predicted to last over the weekend. According to the ministry, there were fires in Spain between January 1 and July 3 that totaled more than 70,300 hectares, about double the average for the previous ten years.
France
Around 1,000 firemen are working to put out two significant wildfires in France. Nearly 4,000 hectares of land have already been destroyed by the fires in the southwest of the nation. In some places of the south-west of France, temperatures are expected to exceed 39°C during a heatwave that will stretch for eight to ten days.
