Portugal and Greece are on high alert for wildfires, while Spain is expecting temperatures as high as 44C (111F) as Europe’s latest blast of heat persists over Iberia.
(Bloomberg) — Portugal and Greece are on high alert for wildfires, while Spain is expecting temperatures as high as 44C (111F) as Europe’s latest blast of heat persists over Iberia.
Red warnings are in place for parts of southern Spain, after temperatures climbed as high as 44.6C in Seville province on Wednesday. In Portugal, more than 1,000 firefighters are standing by in Odemira for flareups, after containing a wildfire that burnt 8,400 hectares and forced the evacuation of several villages earlier this week.
Extreme weather has hit the Northern Hemisphere from the US to China this summer, bringing fires, floods and violent storms as climate change increases the intensity of heat waves. A record-breaking June was followed by the planet’s hottest month on record in July, but efforts to curb the use of fossil fuels fall well short of what’s required to address global warming.
“The extreme weather – an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate – is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas said earlier this month. “This underlines the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible.”
Read more: July Declared Hottest Month on Record, Hitting Paris 1.5C Limit
Seven regions in Greece face high wildfire risks, including Greater Athens and the islands of Lesvos and Rhodes. A blaze that broke out in Marathona near the capital has been extinguished, along with 40 other wildfires over the past 24 hours.
Another Saharan anticyclone, dubbed Nerone, will increase the heat in parts of Italy to as high as 40C.
Temperatures in northern Europe, which have been cooler than usual over the past few weeks, will rise over the coming 10 days, according to Maxar Technologies Inc. London will climb to 24C on Thursday, close to the seasonal average.
Further north, Storm Hans has left a trail of destruction across Scandinavia. That includes the partial collapse of a dam at a hydroelectric plant in Norway.
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