The unprecedented early heat wave that has hit southern Europe for days is expected to worsen across France today, even reaching absolute records, while in Spain firefighters are still struggling to contain fires on many fronts.
Almost the entire French territory is expected to be affected today and 14 apartments in the south-west of France were put on red alert, as the temperature can reach 42 degrees Celsius locally, according to the meteorological service of the country Météo-France.
Yesterday, Friday, previous records for June were already broken in at least 11 communities, with the thermometer showing mainly in Carcassonne, in the south of France, 40.4 degrees Celsius.
This afternoon “will generally be between 38 and 41 degrees Celsius in the south-west of the country, central and the Paris region. Temperatures approaching 42 degrees Celsius are also possible locally in the southern part of the region of Aquitaine (southwestern France). “The temperature record could also be broken completely,” Météo-France warned in a statement issued today.
The multiplication of heat waves in Europe is a direct consequence of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions increase the power, duration and repetition rate of heat waves, according to scientists.
Many festive, sports and cultural events were canceled in the French apartments that were put on high alert and where students were able to stay in their homes yesterday to avoid the heat.
In the Haute-Sa .ne department in eastern France, 10 students aged 10 and 11 suffered heatstroke at a stadium near their school in Pinnacle, where the temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius.
55 degrees Celsius in greenhouses
“We are in a very early heatstroke, a strong episode that lasts a little longer than expected,” said French Health Minister Brigitte Bourguignon during a visit to a nursing home in the south-west of the country. to the needs “.
Public authorities have been particularly vigilant for nearly twenty years, drawing lessons from the historic heatwave of 2003, which killed more than 15,000 people in France, mostly the elderly.
The homeless are also at risk of dehydration. In Toulouse, in the southwestern part of the country, the Red Cross organizes marathons to distribute cool water. “People on the street are more likely to die in the summer than in the winter,” said Ig Ziegler, 67, a volunteer.
Farmers are also forced to adapt. “I work from dawn until 11:30 and then I can work at night, before nightfall,” said Daniel Tofaloni, 64, a grower near Ellen in southwestern France. In tomato greenhouses, the temperature can reach 55 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile in several apartments in the central part of the country, the risk of fire is considered “very serious”, with an increase in fires in crops in the fields.
Evacuations due to fires in Spain
In Spain, firefighters were still battling wildfires across the country yesterday, which has been hit by an unprecedented heat wave for almost a week.
More than 3,000 people have been evacuated from the Pui du Fu amusement park in central Spain due to a large fire near it.
The most devastating fire in the country burned nearly 90,000 acres in the Sierra de la Culebra, in northwestern Spain, according to Castile-Leon regional authorities.
More than 200 residents of this mountainous area near the border with Portugal were forced to flee their homes due to the fire.
In northeastern Spain, hundreds of firefighters are battling to contain other wildfires in Catalonia on “the most complicated day in terms of weather,” they say.
A fire that broke out near Baldomar, in the province of Lerida, destroyed about 10,000 acres of forest, according to authorities. In the neighboring region of Aragon, at least 12,000 acres were burned in the municipality of Nonaspe, according to the prefecture.
Drought in Italy
In northern Italy, Lombardy is preparing to declare a record drought emergency threatening crops and water is already being distributed by bulletin to several cities in the Po Valley. This area, with important crops, is facing the worst drought in 70 years.
The UN yesterday called for “action now” against drought and desertification to prevent “human catastrophes”.
“It’s time to act: every action counts,” said Ibrahim Tiaou, executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CNULCD), in a press conference in Madrid on the occasion of World Anti-Desertification Day yesterday.
Source: Capital
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