Forest fires advance in southern Europe and displace thousands of people

Hundreds of firefighters are fighting forest fires that have already devastated almost 20 thousand hectares in Portugal, Spain, France and Greece, report Guardian and Folha. The forecast is that strong winds will fuel the flames. Not to mention the rise in temperatures.

On the slopes of the French Pyrenees, near the border with Spain, 700 firefighters were fighting to contain an out-of-control fire that had already devastated 5,000 hectares and caused the evacuation of more than 10,000 people, according to Reuters. Due to the fire, authorities banned the presence of spectators at a stage of the Tour de France cycling race.

In Spain, a fire near the country's northeast coast burned more than 2,200 hectares in two days. Firefighters said the operation would be “complicated” by rising temperatures and the many “smoke spots” within the fire perimeter, reports Le Monde.

In Portugal, emergency services claimed to have controlled 80% of a forest fire that devastated around 13 thousand hectares of forest and scrub in the north of the country. José Costa, from the Portuguese Civil Defense, said that the fire had spread for 35 km since it started on Thursday (2/7), and that 1,200 firefighters were involved in fighting the flames.

Greece was relatively spared from the latest heatwave. However, flames caused by a forest fire destroyed two factories in the city of Thessaloniki, in the north of the country. Another large fire broke out on Sunday (5/7) west of Athens, with 210 firefighters, supported by volunteers, specialized teams and 29 aircraft mobilized to fight the flames.

With or without flames, European countries are expecting a new heat wave. According to an analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), the heat dome that hit the continent until last week would not have been so intense without climate change. To date, almost 5,000 deaths have been recorded as a result of high temperatures. And the numbers continue to grow.

From the middle of this week, temperatures are expected to reach 34°C in some areas of the UK, report BBC and Independent. The country's Health Security Agency has issued heat-related health warnings for the Midlands, east, south and north regions of England from July 8 to 12.

Swiss authorities also warned the population about the new heat wave, according to Swiss Info. Level 3 heatwave warnings are in effect until at least next Monday (13/7). At level 3, MeteoSwiss warns of a significant risk of health problems and physical discomfort.