(Reuters) – Europe is battling the effects of scorching temperatures which have reached worrying levels globally, with July being the hottest month recorded on both land and sea.
Last year, heatwaves resulted in over 61,600 heat-related fatalities across 35 European countries and triggered devastating wildfires. This year, temperatures could exceed Europe’s current record of 48.8 degrees Celsius, recorded in Sicily in August 2021.
Below is a list of the most recent blazes and heat-related warnings issued in Europe.
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FRANCE
2,000 people were evacuated on Aug 15 as a fire burned through 500 hectares of land and destroyed a campsite in the south of France, near Perpignan, fueled by intense heat, dryness and tumultuous winds. The blaze was quickly brought under control.
Small-scale blazes have been recorded across the country throughout the summer.
Mid-April the French geological service BRGM said that very low groundwater levels have put France on course for a worse summer drought than last year.
GREECE
Fires burning since mid-July on the island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of some 20,000 as an inferno reached coastal resorts on the island’s southeast. A wildfire also forced evacuations from the island of Corfu in the night of July 25-26.
In the capital city of Athens, a wildfire declared on July 17 spread through forests, about 30 km (18 miles) north. The fire front extended for more than 8 km, officials said. Firefighters were able to control other fires in the southeast and west of Athens, but those areas were still at risk.
ITALY
The central and southern regions of Italy recorded 7% more deaths than normal in July after a baking heatwave, health ministry data showed, while firefighters on Aug 7 battled fires on the island of Sardinia. 600 people were evacuated.
Rome registered a new record high temperature of 41.8 Celsius, the weather service of the local Lazio region reported.
PORTUGAL
The wildfire that started on Aug 5 in the south of Portugal was tamed, authorities said four days later, though they remained alert. The blaze destroyed around 8,400 hectares of forest, according to preliminary data, and forced the evacuation of around 1,400 people.
Portugal’s authorities declared some 120 municipalities across Portugal at maximum risk of wildfires due to the heat.
SPAIN
Tenerife is the latest Canary island to struggle with a blaze, which broke out on Aug 15 in a mountainous national park, burning 2,600 hectares and forcing the evacuation of 3,800 people. Region leader Fernando Clavijo said it was the “most complex fire” they faced in the Canary Islands in the last 40 years.
Firefighters were battling an uncontrollable wildfire that started on July 15 on the island of La Palma which led to the evacuation of at least 4,000 people. The fire was brought under control by the end of the month.
Spain has endured a prolonged period of drought, with the first four months of 2023 being the driest on record.
(Reporting and compiling by Dina Kartit and Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Piotr Lipiński, Alexandra Hudson)
