Spain Battles Biggest Wildfires In 20 Years As Heatwave Grips Europe
Source: The Guardian
Health officials warn ‘the worst is still to come’, with temperatures expected to exceed 44C in some areas. Firefighters battled wildfires at a scale not seen for 20 years in Spain and southern France was placed on unprecedented red alert as much of western Europe sweltered in an extreme early-summer heatwave on Thursday.
With temperatures in northern Spain and southern France set to exceed 44C, governments urged their citizens to take the utmost precaution, warning that in some areas the worst was yet to come.
The conditions led officials to raise the French extreme heat alert to red. The alert, signifying a “dangerous weather phenomenon”, was the first since the system was introduced in 2004 following a 2003 heatwave that led to 15,000 premature deaths.
It was issued for the four southern départements of Hérault, Gard, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône. “All members of the public should be concerned, even those who are in good health,” the interior ministry warned. -MORE...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/27/hundreds-of-firefighters-tackle-blaze-in-north-east-spain
- Wildfire in Spain. 44 degrees Celsius equals 111.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
In Catalonia, more than 500 Spanish civil personnel labored to bring a huge forest fire under control in the province of Tarragona that has so far burned across 12,355 acres of land. 53 residents have been evacuated from their homes, 5 roads remain cut off and authorities have advised people not to enter the area unless absolutely necessary. 100s of sheep have died in the smoke and flames.
“We’re facing a serious fire on a scale not seen for 20 years,” the region’s interior minister, Miquel Buch, said in a tweet. “It could burn through 20,000 hectares. Let’s be very aware that any carelessness could lead to a catastrophe.”
In Europe people sought out rivers, lakes, fountains and swimming pools to stay cool, as a 72-year-old homeless man in Milan died at the city’s main train station after falling ill due to the heatwave, authorities said.
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Read More, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48790242
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