A punishing heatwave has broken a string of records in France and the UK, as parts of Italy suffer drought and Spain battles to contain forest fires that have forced hundreds from their homes.
The heatwave that began earlier in the week intensified on Friday, bringing temperatures from London to Madrid to new highs, according to national weather services.
The record-setting hot weather is in line with warnings from scientists that heatwaves will be more intense and hit earlier than usual as a result of climate change.
Firefighters battled fires in several regions of Spain, including the northwest Sierra de la Culebra where about 200 people fled their homes as forest fires burned up to 7,000 hectares (17,297 acres) of land. More than 3,000 people were evacuated from the Puy du Fou theme park in central Spain due to a fierce fire nearby.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez praised firefighters “who risk their lives on the front line of fires” as temperatures hit more than 35C in most parts of the country and were expected to reach 40C in some areas. The heatwave that has spread up from north Africa through Spain is also affecting Italy and the United Kingdom.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
