Major wildfires are erupting one after another across Europe amid a record-breaking heatwave, with damage spreading rapidly. In some areas, daytime highs are approaching 40 degrees Celsius while flames remain difficult to contain, raising concerns that this year's wildfire season has arrived about a month earlier than usual.
According to AFP, AP and Reuters on Saturday, wildfires that continued for days in Spain, Portugal and France have burned about 19,000 hectares (190 square kilometers) so far. That is roughly 1.8 times the size of the French capital, Paris.
Portugal suffered the greatest damage. A wildfire in the northern forest region destroyed about 13,000 hectares, and authorities said they had contained about 80% of the total fire. Nine people were also injured, including burn victims. To support firefighting efforts, Spain and Italy urgently deployed firefighting personnel and equipment.
Near the Costa Brava coast in northeastern Spain, a wildfire entered its second day, turning 2,200 hectares to ash. Firefighting authorities explained that the combination of heatwave and dry weather conditions made extinguishing efforts difficult.
In the Pyrénées-Orientales region of southern France, fires also continued to spread. About 1,500 hectares were destroyed, centered on the mountainous area east of Perpignan, with 750 firefighters and more than 200 fire trucks deployed to fight the blaze. No deaths have been reported so far, but one firefighter and one resident were seriously injured.
There is a possibility the wildfires could affect the schedule of the Tour de France, the world's most prestigious road cycling race. With flames spreading to within about 60 kilometers of Les Angles, where the finish line for the third stage was set, relevant authorities are closely reviewing race operation plans.
The fires appear to be spreading across all of southern Europe. On the outskirts of Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, a wildfire spread to a recycling plant, generating a large amount of toxic gas. Fires also broke out on the Croatian island of Hvar and in Talë, Albania, where firefighting efforts continue.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the recent heatwave has caused more than 1,300 excess deaths in Europe compared with the annual average. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "heat stress is a 'silent killer,'" adding that "climate change means extreme heat that used to appear once in decades is now recurring almost every year." Meanwhile, weather authorities forecast that the heatwave blanketing Europe is likely to continue into July.
