Temperatures up to 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) have driven areas of Europe under a severe heatwave, which has sparked fires, forcing mass evacuations in many countries.
Firefighters are fighting a fire in northwestern Spain that harmed the UNESCO-listed Roman gold mining site Las Médulas and displaced some 700 people. Extreme heat and gusts of up to 40 km/h produced hazardous “fire whirls,” therefore complicating containment efforts, Regional Environment Minister Juan Carlos Suarez-Quinones stated. Including two firefighters, four individuals were slightly hurt.
Almost 700 firefighters are fighting a major fire in Trancoso, northern Portugal, that started on Saturday.
With very high temperatures predicted from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, MeteoFrance placed 12 departments on red alert, the highest heat warning. Agricultural climatologist Serge Zaka called the circumstances “a nightmare,” pointing out the infrequency of such alerts—only eight times since 2004.
Three significant wildfires ravaged the borders of Greece and Türkiye, including one close to Strumyani in Bulgaria that flared three weeks thereafter. Bulgaria reported almost 200 fires in recent days, most of which are under control, and temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Hungary shattered a mark from 1948 by recording a new national temperature of 39.9°C (104°F) in the southeast. Budapest also saw a record 38.7°C (101.6°F).
About 40 wildfires in Albania erupted in 24 hours, damaging residences and leaving more than a dozen active. Croatia dispatched 150 overnight firefighters to defend dwellings close to Split against spreading fires.
The fires—compounded by intense heat and powerful winds—underline the accelerating effects of climate change throughout Europe, authorities caution.
