Summer heat is set to return to Spain this week, while the threat of wildfires is spreading across the Mediterranean from the French Riviera to the Greek islands.
(Bloomberg) — Summer heat is set to return to Spain this week, while the threat of wildfires is spreading across the Mediterranean from the French Riviera to the Greek islands.
Temperatures are set to breach 42C (107.6C) in Malaga on Wednesday, prompting a red heat alert for the province, according to the Spanish weather service Aemet. The heat will also sweep parts of Aragon, Murcia and Valencia, before moving to southern France and parts of Italy in the coming days.
Heat waves have seared the Northern Hemisphere this summer, as fossil fuels warm the planet, triggering wildfires, flooding and violent storms. That put the world on track for its hottest ever month in July, after a record June. The extreme weather is straining energy and transport systems, while threatening the health and livelihoods of millions.
Read more: World Set for Hottest Month on Record as Emissions Stoke Warming
The risk of wildfires continues across the Mediterranean, including on the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily, and an area around Marseille in the south of France, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. Most of Spain is also under threat as high temperatures combine with a drier than normal outlook.
There were more than 60 wildfires in Greece over the past 24 hours, but those have been contained. That came after 1,470 wildfires in July, fanned by strong winds and extreme heat. So far this year, 55,000 hectares have been burnt in Greece, which is already 30% higher than the annual average.
“Climate change is with us and it is affecting us all in different ways,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a television interview with the UK’s ITV. “We are at the forefront of moving away from fossil fuels. We take both adaptation and mitigation to climate change very very seriously.”
Cooler weather is persisting over northern Europe, with temperatures in Germany, France and Nordic countries below seasonal averages.
London is forecast to reach a high of 19C over the weekend, 5C below the norm, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc. Paris will be 6.5C below the seasonal average on Saturday. That trend is set to continue for large parts of Europe for the coming 10 days.
The UK was also subject to yellow weather warnings on Wednesday, with thunderstorms threatening flooding and travel disruption for central England and Wales. The south coast faced an alert for unseasonably strong winds.
–With assistance from Ellie Harmsworth.
(Updates with comment from Greek prime minister in sixth paragraph and weather warnings in UK in last)
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