Firefighters fought for forest fires in Turkiye and France on Monday, and more than 50,000 people were evacuated when a heat wave in early summer arrived in Europe.
Health Alerts were issued in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany. Even the Netherlands, accustomed to a softer climate, issued a warning for high temperatures in the next few days, along with high humidity.
“Large parts of Western Europe are experiencing extreme heat conditions and heat wave that are normally observed in July or August, instead of June,” said Samantha Burgess, a strategic lead for the climate in the EU Copernic Climate Change Service.
Temperatures were in some places 5-10 degrees warmer than otherwise they should have been at this time of the year, he said.
In Turkiye, forest fires were unleashed for a second day in the western province of Izmir, fueled by strong winds, said forest minister Ibrahim Yumakli. More than 50,000 people have been evacuated in five regions, including more than 42,000 in Izmir, said the AFAD Emergency Management Authority of Turkiye.
Turkiye’s coastal regions in recent years have been devastated by forest fires, since summers have become hotter and more dry, what scientists say it is the result of humans induced climate change.
In France, where temperatures are expected to reach its maximum point on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, forest fires exploded Sunday in the Aude department of the Southwest, where temperatures exceeded 40 ° C, burning 400 hectares and forcing the evacuation of a camp and an abbey, the authorities said.
The fires were under control but they still did not extinguish, authorities said on Monday. Meteorological Service Méoe France put a record 84 of the 101 departments of the country in an orange heat wave alert from the middle of the week.
Occidental Europe
From Cola spectators at the All England Club for the Wimbledon tennis tournament to tourists in the Colosseum of Rome and Seville in Spain, people suffocated in the heat.
“There are about 20 warmer degrees than I am used to and I am burned by the sun everywhere,” said Tennis fan Scott Henderson, attending Wimbledon from Scotland.
Spain is ongoing for its most popular registered June, said the Aemet National Meteorological Service.
“In the next few days, at least until Thursday, the intense heat will continue in much of Spain,” said Ruben del Campo, spokesman for the weather agency.
In Seville, southern Spain, where world leaders gathered for a United Nations Conference, temperatures reached 42 ° C.
“It’s horrible,” said municipal worker Bernabe Rufo while cleaning a source. “We need to be constantly looking for shadow.” The upper temperature in the country was recorded at 43.7 ° C in the Granado.
In Italy, the Ministry of Health issued Weatwave red alerts for 16 cities, including Rome and Milan.
The Lombardy region, part of the industrial heart of northern Italy, plans to prohibit outdoor work in the hottest part of the day, paying attention to a request from the unions, said its president.
Consumers urged to limit water use
Also in Germany, heat warnings were in place in large parts of the western and southwest regions on Monday, where temperatures rose to up to 34 ° C. The authorities appealed to consumers to limit their use of water.
The heat wave has reduced water levels in the Rhine River, hindering the shipment and increase in load costs for load owners, said merchants of basic products said. The German and French -based French energy prices for Tuesday increased when the heat wave led to a greater cooling demand.
Heat can affect the health in several ways, and experts are more concerned with the elderly and babies, as well as outdoor workers and people fighting economically.
Worldwide, extreme heat kills 480,000 people annually, exceeding the combined cost of floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, and raises increasing risks for infrastructure, economy and health systems, Swiss Re said earlier this month.
Scientists say that the main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuel burning. Last year he was the most popular on the registered planet.
