European Cool Is Becoming Harder on a Warming Planet
The onset of extreme heat as an everyday feature of life on a warming planet is taking a particularly hard toll on Europe this summer. Wildfires are raging across the Mediterranean, with temperatures today forecast to reach 42C (111F) across parts of Spain and France. Farmers are facing increased frequency of drought. Power markets are being gripped by new vulnerability.
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36 minutes ago
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Wildfires kill three across southern Europe, force thousands to evacuate
By David Latona PATRAS, Greece/MADRID (Reuters) -Hundreds of firefighters battled to put out wildfires across southern Europe on Thursday, some of which are believed to have been set deliberately by arsonists and stoked by an extended heat wave gripping the region. The European Union sent reinforcements to help Greece and Spain tackle blazes which have killed three firefighters, damaged homes and buildings and razed swathes of farm and forest land, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. Hot and dry summers have been common in the Mediterranean region. But wildfires fanned by intense heat and winds, the result of a fast-changing climate, scientists say, have become more destructive and tougher to control. From Portugal to Spain, Albania and Greece, firefighters struggled to contain towering walls of flames threatening life and property. The Iberian Peninsula alone made up about half of the EU's burned area of some 500,000 hectares (1,931 square miles) so far this year, according to estimates by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). In Greece, more than 200 firefighters assisted by 11 aircraft battled to extinguish a blaze near the port city of Patras in the western Peloponnese. Elevated temperatures stoked tinderbox conditions. "In such circumstances just a spark is enough to start a fire which can quickly spin out of control," said Greece's Civil Protection and Climate Change Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis. Three people suspected of deliberately igniting wildfires near Patras were arrested and expected to appear before a public prosecutor on Thursday, a senior police official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Greece has made available a record number of some 18,000 firefighters this year. RAGING INFERNO In Spain, three people, including volunteer firefighters, died amiddozens of wildfires this week, as the country baked in a heat wave for an 11th day with temperatures as high as 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) in some areas, expected to last until Monday. Local media identified the latest victim as 37-year-old Jaime Aparicio, who suffered burns to 85% of his body after being trapped alongside another volunteer firefighter as they attempted to create firebreaks with brush cutters. On Thursday, 11 large fires threatened built-up areas, forcing authorities to evacuate over 9,000 residents, and to cut off roads and suspend rail services. In Portugal, nearly 1,000 firefighters battled a blaze near the scenic mountain village of Piodao. Crews managed to bring under control a wildfire burning for 11 days - the longest for this season - in the mountainous area of Vila Real in the north. In Albania, soldiers, firefighters, and volunteers, supported by helicopters and an Italian Canadair fire jet, battled to contain separate fronts in the Sopot area between Delvina and Gjirokastra on Thursday after blazes raging for days damaged dozens of homes and charred agricultural land. Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Thursday 137 arsonists have been identified since June, and several were being arrested. Clirim Conku, a 61-year-old farmer in southern Albania, lost vineyards, olive groves and all his livestock in a wildfire but was relieved he and his faithful dog survived. "I was using everything to keep the flames out. For example to fight the smoke this napkin has saved my life. I put some water on it but it stayed wet more with sweat," he said. Others were bitter that a lifetime of work was gone in minutes. Restaurant owner Dimitris Daskas, 57, whose business was close to Patras, broke his arm while trying to save his property and was left without water or power as the flames approached. "My wife was calling (emergency services) to say we are on fire; they didn't even pick up," he told Reuters.
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5 hours ago
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Dry conditions challenging some N.B. farmers
Wildfires and tinderbox conditions are a challenge for farmers in New Brunswick this summer. "Right now a lot of cranberry farmers are losing a lot of their water," said Arick Streatch, a farmer with Sunberry Cranberry Producers in Maugerville, just outside Fredericton. "Cranberry farmers rely on water not only for harvest time when we flood, but for sizing our berries up and for keeping the moisture content at a reasonable level." New Brunswick and other regions in Canada have endured hot and dry conditions over the last several days. A multi-day Environment Canada heat warning is expected to end after Wednesday. Stretch said his farm is still able to draw water from a century-old canal at the back of the farm, so it's not the worst-case scenario just yet. He said that these are the hottest conditions he's seen in the last six years of farming and that harvesting cranberries in the fall, which requires flooding the fields, would be "extremely hard" if water sources dry up. Aside from needing water to harvest, having dryer cranberries also brings a financial impact. "We need water to size our fruit up. And if you've got bigger berries, that will be a bigger crop, because we go by weight," Stretch said. "So we'll lose money if our berries are too small." There's also what's called fruit rot, when cranberries completely shrivel up. "Every farmer will have areas of their farm where they'll have some dry stuff, I think everyone is trying to be optimistic," Stretch said. Across the province in Salisbury, near Moncton, John Bos of Bosenic Farms said he's been luckier than some neighbouring farms. While his corn crop to use for feed was planted in time, some other farmers didn't plant early enough to avoid the drought. "The yields will definitely be down, the cobs aren't filling out like they should and the plants are starting to shrink," Bos said. He's trying to keep his cows as cool as possible by keeping lots of fans running in the barn. "I'd rather stand in the barns than outside today," Bos said with a laugh. Milking Holstein cows in the heat is challenging even with the fans running, Bos said. The heat has also caused some cows not to go into heat and breed, which won't have an effect until the fall, when the herd of calves might be slightly smaller. "Things get out of sync," he said. Milking cows also need large amounts of water, so he's worried, too, about water sources drying up in the heat. "If a cow is putting out 40 litres of milk a day, she's probably got to drink almost 80 litres to digest it and make that milk," he said. Bos said another farmer nearby stopped making hay out of concern his tractor would overheat or malfunction and set the field on fire. "That's the first thing you worry about, what's the worst thing that can happen," Bos said. "And you try to mitigate that. "But there's no certainties in life." A provincial ban earlier this week on entering Crown lands because of extreme dryness was became a struggle for one farming sector in particular. "It was a difficult decision," said Donald Arseneault, the executive director of New Brunswick Blueberries and a former natural resources minister. "I've been in government. I get it, they have to take into account ... the safety of everyone." With many of the 175 blueberry farmers represented by his group using Crown land for blueberry fields, the ban means farms legally can't access their crops. And with the harvest season just beginning, that means widespread anxiety. "If you miss that harvest season, then it's all for nothing," Arseneault said in an interview. Arseneault said the New Brunswick industry usually produces about 60 to 80 million pounds a year and employs thousands. The industry's problem appeared to have been remedied by late Wednesday afternoon. Natural Resources Minister John Herron said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that the department was "exploring options" to allow blueberry producers onto their land. Later in the afternoon, a news release from the department announced new regulations. Blueberries on Crown land can be harvested, but only under strict conditions, the release said. Harvesting can only happen at night and with firefighting equipment on site.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
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One person dead after hot air balloon crash in Netherlands
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -One person has died and five others were injured after a hot air balloon crash-landed late on Wednesday evening in a meadow in Friesland, a province in the north of the Netherlands, local authorities said. The balloon was carrying 34 passengers. "The hot air balloon came down quickly around 9 p.m. and hit the ground hard", Friesland authorities said, adding that the police had launched an investigation into the accident. A spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Aeronautical Association said in local media reports that a sudden gust of wind had caused the balloon to strike the ground forcefully, making the basket bounce and leading to five people falling out.
