A farmer takes his sheep to a safe place during a village in Boa Vista, Portugal (photo: EPA)
We don’t have to look too far to see what awaits us in the UK.
Temperatures in Western Europe have risen above 40 ° C, causing forest fires and forcing farmers like the one shown in Boa Vista, Portugal, to take drastic measures to save their livestock.
The hot air it has pushed through Portugal and Spain will spread north and east in the coming days.
This is behind the extreme weather warnings currently plaguing the UK.
In Spain, some 300 firefighters backed by 17 planes and helicopters were fighting a forest fire in the eastern region of Extremadura that has ravaged 2,500 hectares of land, local authorities said.
Speaking to Parliament, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has promised “more resources” to fight the wildfires that are being fueled by “the climate emergency that is sweeping the planet.”
Temperatures are expected to continue rising in Spain until Thursday, with highs of up to 44 ° C in the Guadalquivir Valley in Seville in the south.
The Spanish Ministry of Health warned that “intense heat” could affect people’s “vital functions” and cause problems such as heat stroke.
He advised people to drink water frequently, wear light clothing and “stay as long as possible” in the shade or in air-conditioned places.
The sheep was sprayed with water to help cool it after it appeared burned (Image: EPA) A fire closed a nearby road in both directions (Image: EPA)
“It’s hell,” said Dania Arteaga, a 43-year-old cleaner from a store in central Madrid with her forehead covered in sweat.
World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Clare Nullis said: “We expect it to get worse. This heat is accompanying the drought. At the moment we have very, very dry soils.
‘The glaciers of the Alps, are being really punished right now. It has been a very bad season for the glaciers. And we’re still relatively early in the summer. ‘
Last week, an avalanche caused by the sinking of the largest glacier in the Italian Alps amid unusually warm temperatures killed 11 people.
Heat waves have become more frequent due to climate change, scientists say. As global temperatures increase over time, heat waves are expected to become more intense.
In neighboring Portugal, firefighters were battling a fire that has ravaged some 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of land in the central town of Ourem since Thursday.
The fire was brought under control on Monday, but re-ignited on Tuesday morning.
Portugal has suffered from extreme heat, and will only get worse (Image: EPA) Extreme temperatures are likely to hit the UK from Sunday (Image: EPA)
With temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday in much of the country, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has called for “maximum caution.”
The government has issued an “alert situation” for forest fires across the country, at least until Friday, raising levels of preparedness for firefighters, police and emergency medical services.
The current situation is evoking memories of the devastating forest fires of 2017 that claimed the lives of more than 100 people in Portugal.
Local officials in the town of Sintra, near Lisbon, closed a number of tourist attractions such as palaces and monuments in a popular green mountain range among visitors as a precaution.
The World Meteorological Organization map shows the intense heat in Portugal and Spain
In France, temperatures, which on Monday reached 30 degrees Celsius in much of the country, could rise to 39 degrees Celsius in some areas on Tuesday, the national weather service Meteo France predicted.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne urged all government ministers to be prepared to deal with the consequences of the heat wave which is expected to last up to 10 days.
“The heat is very quickly affecting the health of people, especially those most vulnerable,” his office said in a statement.
The UK issued an extreme heat warning, with temperatures forecast to reach 35 degrees Celsius in the south-east of the country in the coming days.
The extreme heat warning was classified as “amber,” the second highest alert level, indicating a “high impact” on daily life and people.