AS HEAT SPARKS WILDFIRES THROUGHOUT EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EVACUATED.
As firefighters battle flames brought on by this week's heatwave, which has brought severe temperatures of more than 45C (113F) to parts of Europe and north Africa, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Portugal, Spain, France, and Morocco.
Since wildfires erupted in Portugal last week, one person has died and at least 135 people have been injured, most of whom have suffered minor injuries. According to the country's Civil Protection Authority, a "state of contingency" has been declared since Sunday, and approximately 800 people have been evacuated from their homes.
Portugal had 28 active fires as of Thursday, with over 2,000 firefighters on the ground.
The Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) of Portugal reported that 13 regions experienced unprecedented temperatures on Wednesday, with a temperature of 46.3C recorded in the central town of Lous.
"This is not a typical situation, and it is grave in every way," IPMA meteorologist Patrcia Gomes told the Portuguese press.
"We've had houses burning down, people being injured - both firefighters and civilians - and one of our residents has ended up with 50 percent burns," said Pedro Pimpo, mayor of Pombal, a city in central Portugal.
Many villages in the area, he said, were completely isolated, forcing residents to fight to save their homes until firefighters arrived.
The fire, which had unprecedented proportions for the region, has since been extinguished, but the area remains on high alert.
The ongoing wildfires come five years after a devastating fire in the central municipality of Pedrógo Grande killed 66 people, injured hundreds, and destroyed 30,000 hectares of forest.
Portugal's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, insisted on Thursday during a visit to injured firefighters in Lisbon that there had been significant improvements in fire prevention in recent years.
Hundreds more people were evacuated from their homes in south-west France on Friday as wildfires raged uncontrollably.
More than 1,000 firefighters, aided by nine water-bomber planes, have been battling two blazes fueled by scorching heat, tinder-box conditions, and strong winds since Tuesday.
Authorities in Gironde, where the fires are still burning, have described the situation as "adverse."
One of the two Gironde fires was near Landiras, south of Bordeaux, where 4,200 hectares were burned, roads were closed, and nearly 1,000 residents were evacuated.
Dark smoke clouds were seen rising into the sky.
On Wednesday, approximately 6,000 people were evacuated from nearby campsites, and another 4,000 people were evacuated early Thursday.
Many temperature records have been equaled or broken across Spain, with the mercury reaching 44.1 degrees Celsius in the northwestern city of Ourense for the first time on Thursday. Temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius in parts of Extremadura on Thursday, where firefighters are battling a wildfire that has consumed over 4,000 hectares of land.
Another fire had erupted by Friday in Extremadura's Monfragüe national park, which is known for its biodiversity and birdlife.
According to Cayetano Torres, a spokesperson for Spain's meteorological office, Aemet, while the heatwave, Spain's second of the summer so far, is expected to end on Monday, it may not be the last of the year.
He mentioned two heatwaves in 2021, three in 2020 and 2019, one in 2018, five in 2017, and four in 2016.
"We can't draw a convincing conclusion," Torres said, "but a climatological analysis of temperature trends shows that high summer temperatures are beginning earlier and becoming more intense." "There is also a trend toward longer-lasting heatwaves."
He also stated that rising temperatures from global warming were already altering the weather and changing the geography of parts of Spain.
"We know something is changing because the temperature charts show that each year is hotter than the last," he said. "There's a clear trend here, and it's causing desertification." You could say that Almera is an extension of the Sahara desert, which is moving south-east."
Moroccan firefighters, soldiers, police officers, and civil defense workers have been battling at least four forest fires in the country's north.
According to preliminary reports, at least 1,000 hectares of forest have been burned in Larache and Ouezzane since Wednesday night.
The country, which is suffering from severe drought, has recently been hit by temperatures approaching 45 degrees Celsius.
This week, extreme heat has also engulfed much of China, affecting over 900 million people. High temperatures have made national headlines, with authorities warning senior citizens about the dangers of such conditions.
Shanghai, the country's most populous city, issued its highest alert for the third time this summer on Thursday, as high temperatures continued to break records. Temperatures reached 40.6 degrees Celsius on Thursday afternoon, but fell short of Wednesday's 40.9 degrees Celsius, which tied a previous record set in 2017. A rainstorm on Friday, however, brought relief to Shanghai residents.
By Thursday, the city had issued three red alerts in the previous five days. Meteorologists said these warnings were unusual, with only 17 issued since records began in 1895.
