Forest fires ravaged by Spain amid record heat wave

An early heat wave broke some records in Spain, with Valencia airport hitting a record high in June on Friday, with a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius) beating records set in 2017. In Madrid, temperatures soared to about 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 degrees Celsius) in what the state weather agency said was the first major heat wave in more than four decades.

Claire Nullis, a spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization, “What we are seeing today is unfortunately a glimpse into the future” He told The Independent Over the weekend she warned that early heat waves were being driven by climate change.

Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research which is funded by the German government, On Twitter he called Spectator in Europe’s “new normal” warned that extreme weather would only worsen if global emissions were not cut.

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The Sierra de la Culebra, a mountain range in Castile and Leon, in northwestern Spain, has been one of the areas worst affected, with one union of workers Connection The forest fire is a “real beast” as it formed a towering orange wall along what was once a lush green landscape.

Some relief came Sunday as temperatures cooled. Emergency planes dropped water on Monday on rural land in the west of the country to prevent blazes, as forest fires continued to burn in areas including Navarra and Catalonia, Reuters news agency reported.

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Hundreds of firefighters are working in several regions, including Zamora in the northwest and Valencia in the southeast, to put out the flames.

Officials in Catalonia, in the country’s northeast, said over the weekend that emergency services were struggling to contain more than 30 fires, according to the Guardian. mentioned.

The heat wave also hit France, and the Health Security Agency issued a warning in Britain, as the country recorded the warmest days of the year. Temperatures in London exceeded 89 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) due to what experts described as a blast of hot air from North Africa.

In Germany, more than a dozen cities close to Berlin have been evacuated as a precaution against approaching wildfire over the weekend, Deutsche Welle mentioned.

“The hottest time of the year is usually between mid-July and mid-August,” meteorologist Tim Steiger told the outlets. “If we’re really dealing with these temperatures now, there will likely be more days like today, or even hotter temperatures, later this year.”

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Sammy Westfall contributed to this report.