As Western Europe is experiencing a record heat wave, thousands of firefighters are struggling to contain the wildfires in France, Spain and Portugal that have destroyed thousands of acres of land.
The fires have forced thousands of people to evacuate to a safe place as extreme heat occupies the region. There have also been more than 1,000 heat-related deaths in Spain and Portugal so far in July, according to the respective ministries of health.
In the south of France, more than 14,000 people were forced to flee when the fires spread to more than 27,180 acres of land. The country’s interior ministry also issued red heat wave alerts in 15 French departments and orange alerts in 51 departments on Sunday.
Monday could be the hottest day on record in the country, according to French television BFM. Belis, France, hit a high of 40.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday –105.44 Fahrenheit.
The number of people who died from heat-related deaths is unknown, but France’s Ministry of Health told ABC News that information on the number of victims will be published later this month.
Meanwhile, more than 360 people have died in Spain from heat-related deaths between July 10 and 17, and 84 people have died in the last 24 hours, the country’s Ministry of Health reported.
A woman observes how the forest fire is advancing near a residential area of Alhaurín de la Torre, Málaga, Spain, July 16, 2022.
Gregorio Marrero / AP
Firefighters there are fighting 30 active fires, mostly in Castilla y León, Galicia and Andalusia, the Interior Ministry and Catalan authorities reported.
On Sunday, temperatures were forecast to reach 42 ºC (107.6 ºF) in three provinces of the country, prompting the state weather agency to issue “extreme risk” alerts.
In Mijas, Spain, in the municipality of Malaga, 3,000 people have fled due to fires. More than 22,000 hectares of land are at risk of being burned in Mijas province as firefighters struggle to contain the flames.
Forest fires are occurring early in the season, end later and are more frequent due to climate change, the European Union said in a report last year.
Firefighters are working against a forest fire near Landiras, southwestern France, on July 16, 2022.
SDIS 33 via AP
“Climate change is exacerbating the situation, making countries more prone to forest fires and increasing the intensity of these events,” the report says.
In Portugal, forest fires are spreading rapidly through the central and northern regions of the country. According to the Portuguese Ministry of Health, between 7 and 13 July, 238 people had heat-related deaths and there were more than 421 heat-related fatalities between 14 and 17 July.
The suffocating heat is also expected to take over other parts of Europe in the coming days. Areas of England are expected to reach 40 C (104 F) on Monday and Tuesday.
The UK government issued a national emergency and warned people not to leave their homes unless necessary, according to The Associated Press.
“This year, for the first time, we have issued a severe weather emergency response in the summer,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan.