In France, Sweltering Is a Climate Virtue
This summer the French government suggested air conditioning should be used mainly by those 'who are very sensitive to heat (elderly people, etc.),' or who can't open the window at night because it's too loud outside. The advisory urges the rest of the public to opt for a fan instead, draw the blinds, and limit heat emissions from ovens, computers and game consoles.
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Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Spain deploys 500 more troops to battle wildfires during extended heatwave
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Spain is deploying a further 500 soldiers to battle wildfires that have torn through parched woodland during a prolonged spell of scorching weather, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Sunday. The decision to add to the more than 1,400 troops already on wildfire duty came as authorities struggled to contain forest blazes, especially in the northwestern Galicia region, and awaited the arrival of promised aircraft reinforcements from other European countries. Firefighters are tackling 12 major wildfires in Galicia, all of them near the city of Ourense, the head of the Galician regional government Alfonso Rueda told a press conference with Sánchez. 'Homes are still under threat so we have lockdowns in place and are carrying out evacuations,' Rueda said. Galicia has been battling the spreading flames for more than a week. Temperatures in Spain could reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas on Sunday, the Spanish national weather agency AEMET said. On Saturday, the maximum temperature was 44.7 degrees Celsius (112.46 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southern city of Cordoba, it said. 'This Sunday, when extraordinarily high temperatures are expected, the danger of wildfires is extreme in most of the country,' AEMET said on the social platform X. The fires in Spain this year have burned 158,000 hectares (390,000 acres), according to the European Union's European Forest Fire Information System. That is an area roughly as big as metropolitan London. Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. Spain was expecting the arrival of two Dutch water-dumping planes that were to join aircraft from France and Italy already helping Spanish authorities under a European cooperation agreement. Firefighters from other countries are also expected to arrive in the region in coming days, Spain's Civil Protection Agency chief Virginia Barcones told public broadcaster RTVE. National rail operator Renfe said it suspended Madrid-Galicia high-speed train services scheduled for Sunday due to the fires. Galician authorities advised people to wear face masks and limit their time spent outdoors to avoid inhaling smoke and ash. Portugal is set for cooler weather in coming days after a spate of severe woodland fires. A national state of alert due to wildfires was enacted Aug. 2 and was due to end Sunday, a day before two Swedish firefighting planes were to arrive. As in Spain, Portugal's resources have been stretched. On Sunday, more than 4,000 firefighters and more than 1,300 vehicles were deployed, as well as 17 aircraft, the country's Civil Protection Agency said. The scorched area of forest in Portugal so far this year is 17 times higher than in 2024, at around 139,000 hectares, according to preliminary calculations by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests, a government body. Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also requested help from the EU's firefighting force in recent days to deal with forest fires. The force has already been activated as many times this year as in all of last year's summer fire season.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Spain PM vows 'climate pact' on visit to fire-hit region
Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez promised on Sunday a "national pact" to deal with the climate emergency, as he visited a western region battling devastating wildfires. Spain is entering its third week of heatwave alerts and firefighters are continuing to battle blazes in the northwest and west of the country, with army units deployed to help contain the flames. France and Italy had earlier sent water bombers to an air base near Salamanca to help with the firefighting efforts. "The government of Spain will work now so that in September we can have the bases of this national pact to mitigate and adapt to the climate emergency," said Prime Minister Sanchez during a visit to Ourense in the northwestern province of Galicia. He said he wanted to do "everything possible and even more" to ensure victims of the fires returned to a normal life. The northwest and west of the country have been hard-hit by the fires, particularly the regions of Castile and Leon, Galicia, Asturias and Extremadura. Spain is expected to remain on heat alert until Monday, with the extreme temperatures having significantly increased the risk of wildfires. Climate change caused by humans is increasing the intensity, duration and frequency of periods of extreme heat, which fuel forest fires. mig/jxb/sbk
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Warmer with Storms Developing on Sunday in Maryland
Happy Sunday, everyone! It'll be a warm and humid day with highs for more neighborhoods getting into the 90s. Within Baltimore City limits, we could see a few neighborhoods peaking in the upper 90s. Feels like temperatures or heat index values will rise to near 100° and some areas may feel like over 100°. As a cold front approaches from the north, showers and storms are expected to develop during the second part of today. A line of showers and storms moves through this evening and tonight. A level 1 of 5 risk is in place for much of Maryland as a couple of storms could produce severe level damaging winds. Since we have so much moisture in the atmosphere, there's a higher chance for showers to produce heavier downpours. Storms move in after 6 or 7 pm in western parts of the state and appear to reach I-95 around 9 pm tonight. The line of storms continues moving south and east through the state before clearing the Lower Eastern Shore by early Monday morning. Monday brings its own chance for showers, although the risk appears lower and no threat for stronger storms. Humidity remains high to start the week. Temperatures, however, will be cooler. We could see high temperatures Monday nearly 10° cooler vs Sunday's afternoon high temperatures. Another round of showers comes on Tuesday. Over the course of the next week, humidity will slowly try to decrease. We're anticipating much more comfortable conditions by later this week as a break in the humidity builds in over the next few days. Drier weather also moves in starting around midweek. Hurricane Erin's center moved north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands late Saturday and on Sunday. Thanks to the cold front firing off our Sunday storms, Erin will stay out to sea. The front will stop Erin from continuing it's north-westward movement, causing the storm to eventually move away from the US Mainland. Just because the storm won't make a U.S. landfall doesn't mean we won't have impacts. Erin will still churn up rough surf and dangerous rip currents along the East Coast for a few days as it moves offshore around the middle of the week.
