- Laurence Peter
- BBC correspondent
July 18, 2022
image source,AFP
The North African nation of Morocco has ordered more than 1,300 people to leave their homes and deployed more firefighters to deal with wildfires in the north.
France evacuated more than 16,000 people threatened by fires in southwestern Europe. The fire is also spreading in Spain, Croatia and Greece. Meanwhile, high temperatures killed more than 1,000 people in Portugal and Spain.
Authorities have evacuated guards from camping areas in France’s Gironde province, a tourist resort, after tourists were asked to evacuate earlier. In addition, fires have spread in the Teste-de-Buch and Landiras regions.
In southern Spain, more than 3,200 people fled fires in the Mijas Hills, although some were later able to return.
The fires in Portugal were temporarily brought under control.
heat wave
The fires in Spain’s Mijas region are not far from Málaga, which is also a tourist hotspot. In addition, wildfires have also erupted in other parts of Spain, such as the provinces of Castilla y León, Galicia and Extremadura.
Ellen McCurdy, who lives in the Malaga region, told Archyde.com: “We just grabbed some necessities and left. Everyone was moving along the street at that time … there were a lot of ambulances. Come with the fire truck.”
In fact, thousands of firefighters and many water bomb-dropping planes have been deployed across the Mediterranean region, from Morocco in North Africa in the west to Crete in the east.
Because, since last week, the entire region has been sweltering in severe heat, and vast vegetation has dried up.
More than 1,000 people have died from the heat in Portugal and Spain in recent days.
record high temperature
Heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more intense, and longer lasting due to human-induced climate change. Since the beginning of the industrial age hundreds of years ago, global temperatures have risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius. Unless governments around the world slash carbon emissions, temperatures will continue to rise.
The French Meteorological Service is forecasting temperatures as high as 41 degrees Celsius in the south of the country this Sunday. Record-breaking heat is expected next Monday (July 25).
In Portugal, the temperature has reached 47 degrees Celsius recently.
In the UK, a red alert for extreme heat has been issued for parts of England. Temperatures could hit a record 41C in parts of the UK on Monday (July 18) and the next day.
“Rising temperatures are a sign of climate change,” Dr Eunice Lo, a climate scientist at the University of Bristol, told the BBC. In the UK, 2,000 people die each year from heatwaves.
She said that since 1884, the UK’s top 10 annual hottest year has all occurred since 2002. “Global heat waves are now becoming more common and longer lasting.”
Dr Lo added: “We need to stop burning fossil fuels and act quickly now.”
Wildfires rage
Morocco in North Africa has ordered more than 1,300 people to leave their homes and deployed more firefighters to deal with wildfires in the north. The hardest-hit region was the province of Larache.
On the Greek island of Crete, firefighters battle wildfires in the mountains near Rethymno, on the island’s north coast. On Saturday (July 16), they said the fire was partially contained.
Wildfires are also raging in parts of southwestern Turkey and Croatia, along the Adriatic coast.
Some wildfires broke out near the Croatian resorts of Zadar and Sibenik, but they did not lead to any mass evacuations.
On Saturday (16th), France placed another 22 regional provinces, mainly those on the Atlantic coast, on a high orange alert.
A resident of southwest France has described the forest fires as a “post-apocalyptic” feeling. Because, the fire has burned about 10,500 hectares of land there. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin praised the “extraordinary courage” of the firefighters.
Jacques temporarily moved into a local shelter
Manon Jacquart, 27, told the BBC: “Everything happened so fast! The fire was big, big.”
She was evacuated from the camp where she worked in the early hours of last Wednesday (July 13) and slept in a shelter near De Buch, where hundreds of people have taken shelter.
“I’m just worried, I’m scared…I’m trying to be as strong as I can now, but I’m not sure…I actually want to forget about this week,” she said.
Meanwhile, climbers in the Alps have been urged to postpone their Mont Blanc climbs because of “special climatic conditions” leading to risks such as falling rocks.
Dr Law explained to the BBC that during heatwaves, the public is at greater risk of heat stroke, heat exhaustion and drowning, as people rush to seek cooling.
Pets and farm animals are also vulnerable.
“Although the most vulnerable groups are young children, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions, healthy people are also at risk,” she added.
Extreme heat can also damage infrastructure, such as melting tarmac or deforming railways.
In Portugal, this year’s fires have destroyed 30,000 hectares, mostly in the north of the country. It was the worst fire damage since the summer of 2017, when the devastating blaze killed about 100 people.
In southern Spain, visitors to the beaches of Torremolinos can witness large swathes of smoke spread over the mountains.
Planes have been dropping fire-retardant materials, and helicopters have been zipping back and forth across the coastline, pumping seawater to try to douse wildfires.
“We had about 40 houses in this area, and everyone was so nervous, standing outside the house or on the balcony watching the fire,” said Ashley Baker, a local resident.
“There is still fire on the top of the mountain now, but at least the fire is far away from us, which reassures me.”
In Italy, the government has declared a state of emergency for the dry Po Valley, the country’s longest river that is no longer trickling in some places but is on the verge of drying up.