France battles massive wildfires, Britain records highest ever temperature

• France, Germany and Belgium prepare for perhaps record-breaking temperatures.
• French wine-growing region experiencing worst wildfires in almost 30 years. More than 30 wildfires are still burning around Spain, with four burning in Castile and Leon and Galicia.
• 50 municipalities in neighbouring Portugal have “highest danger” of wildfires. 73 fires were put out in Greece over a 24-hour period; there is still a high chance of fires.
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19 July, London/Paris (Reuters) – As a heatwave rising from the south settled over western Europe on Tuesday, firefighters in southwestern France fought to put out major forest wildfires while Britain recorded its highest ever temperature.

As the heatwave, which experts blame to climate change, moved north and east, southern and western Germany and Belgium likewise prepared for perhaps record-breaking temperatures.

The Met Office reported that on Tuesday, Britain saw a temperature of greater than 40C (104F) for the first time ever.

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Authorities have declared a “national emergency” due to the unusually high temperatures in Britain, which frequently struggles to maintain essential transportation services when slammed by severe weather like heavy snowfall or strong winds.

At least two airport runways showed symptoms of damage, and some train tracks bowed, according to Transport Minister Grant Shapps, who predicted that it would take several years to completely adapt Britain’s infrastructure to withstand greater temperatures.

He told the BBC, “We’ve witnessed a significant amount of travel interruption.” The majority of the nation’s infrastructure, which dates back to the Victorian era, “wasn’t built to endure this type of temperature.”

The Gironde wine-growing region in southwest France experienced its worst wildfires in almost 30 years, and authorities said that a man had been apprehended on suspicion of arson.

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Since July 12, the fires have burned across 19,300 hectares (about 75 square miles) of the countryside surrounding Bordeaux, causing 34,000 people to abandon their homes.

The fires were being fought by about 2,000 firemen with the assistance of eight water-bomber aircraft.

The state prefecture stated in a statement that “despite attacks from the ground and from the air, the situation has still not stabilised,” adding that there had been no reports of fatalities or injuries.

Climate experts determined that it was extremely likely that heatwaves were getting worse due to climate change in a study that was published in the journal “Environmental Research: Climate” in June. View More

According to a February 2022 U.N. assessment, the frequency of extreme wildfires is predicted to rise by 30% over the next 28 years as a result of droughts brought on by human-caused climate change.

As a result of climate change, heat waves are happening more frequently and over longer periods of time, according to Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at Imperial College London.

Intense heat in London
Western France is experiencing wildfires.

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On July 19, 2022, a view of the debris at a Dune du Pilat camping area that had been damaged by a significant fire near the La Teste-de-Buch forest illustrates how wildfires are still spreading over the Gironde region of southwest France. Pascal Rossignol for Reuters

FIRES AND MIST
Although temperatures in Spain and Portugal dropped back to more typical summer levels, firefighters in both nations were still battling many fires.

More than 30 wildfires were still raging around Spain, with four burning in Castile and Leon and Galicia receiving special attention from the authorities.

More than 6,000 people from 32 villages have been evacuated from Losacio, in the northwest of the province of Zamora, where two people have died and three have been gravely injured.

In dramatic television images, flames and smoke plumes could be seen near Tabara, a town in Zamora.

On Monday, a guy attempting to save his community from a wildfire came dangerously close to perish when the fire overtook his excavator and forced him to flee while dousing flames on his clothing. View More

More than 1,500 people in Galicia have been rescued from four fires that destroyed a number of structures.

Before the heatwave, official data revealed that this year had already seen fires spread across 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) of Spain, which is roughly twice the average of the previous ten years.

According to the IPMA weather institute, 50 municipalities in neighbouring Portugal, mostly in the central and northern regions, still had “highest danger” of wildfires.

Five major wildfires were being fought by more than 1,000 firefighters, the largest of which began in the northern municipality of Murça and quickly spread to two adjacent municipalities.

Villages have seen hundreds of residents evacuated, and on Monday, a burned-out automobile containing the bodies of an elderly couple was discovered. View More

According to the fire service, 73 fires were put out in Greece over a 24-hour period. Tuesday across the nation there is a very high chance of fires, according to the civil protection authority.

Two days after it started, a wildfire in Slovenia’s Karst area was put out by firefighters, according to the authorities. There weren’t any losses.