Spain PM vows 'climate pact' on visit to fire-hit region
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.
© 2025 AFP
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France 24
14 hours ago
- France 24
Spain PM vows 'climate pact' on visit to fire-hit region
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. © 2025 AFP
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Spain on heat alert and 'very high to extreme' fire risk
The situation had improved for several other southern European countries, but Greece was still fighting fires on one Aegean island. Much of Spain has already endured nearly two weeks of high temperatures, and on Friday the searing heat spread to Cantabria, which had so far been spared. Temperatures in the northwestern region were forecast to pass 40C, said Aemet, the national weather agency. The risk of fires on Friday and over the weekend into Monday was "very high or extreme in most of the country", it added. Spain has endured a devastating season of fires, with 157,501 hectares (389,193 acres) reduced to ashes since the start of the year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Yet that figure is still well short of 2022, when more than 306,000 hectares went up in smoke. Three people have died during the fires, including two young volunteers in their thirties who lost their lives trying to put out a fire in the Castile and Leon area. One of them, Jaime Aparicio Vidales, was buried in the town of Quintanilla de Florez, Zamora province, Castile and Leon, on Friday. 'Nothing left to burn' On Thursday morning, France sent two water-bombing planes to help try to douse the flames in the northwestern region, where a dozen fires were still raging. The railway line between Madrid and the northwestern region of Galicia remained closed as well as some 10 main roads in the country. Marco Raton, 35, works on a pig farm in Sesnandez de Tabara near one of the fires in Castile and Leon that forced several thousand people to flee their homes. He said he and his friends did not think twice when they saw the fire arrive on Tuesday and grabbed "everything we had -- backpacks, fire bats and garden hoses -- put on appropriate clothing and went over to help". "As soon as we arrived, we started seeing burned people being evacuated, a car on fire, a burning tractor, warehouses, garages," he told AFP, adding that he felt "helpless". Raton said he thought there was "nothing left to burn" after devastating fires in the same region in 2022 but he said he was convinced that "this will continue to happen to us year after year". Angel Roman, the mayor of Ferreruela, said he believed that fire breaks cleared of brush should be established around the villages. "The countryside, if it's clean, can stop the fire," he added. Political row Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist PSOE party and the conservative PP have clashed in recent days over the crisis, with regional administrations normally tasked with putting out forest fires. The central government only intervenes in major incidents and can call on an emergency military unit, which has been in high demand as reinforcement. The PP accuses the government of having cut the number of air assets, something the PSOE has denied, accusing some opposition leaders of staying on holiday while their regions burned. Elsewhere in southern Europe, lower temperatures and reduced wind were helping to improve the situation in Greece and the Balkans, where rain was forecast in many parts of the region. The most active was still on the Mediterranean island of Chios, in the northeastern Aegean Sea, where eight aircraft have been deployed to try to douse the flames. The risk of fire remained high in the Attica region that includes the capital, Athens, and the southern Pelopponese peninsula, the Civil Protection agency warned on Friday. In Albania, initial government estimates said thousands of cattle had been killed and 40 homes destroyed in just three days of wildfires.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
'Like hell': Indoor heat overwhelms Saudi Arabia's cooks, bakers
Armed with an ice-cold water bottle and a wet cloth, the 35-year-old Egyptian was doing his best to stay cool while wearing his mandatory mask and hair cap. "It's hot outside, but inside, it's like fire," he said, shoving a board loaded with flatbreads into a large wood-fired oven. "Standing here in front of the fire is like hell," he added as customers waited in the shade outside the small Riyadh bakery. In arid Saudi Arabia, summer temperatures regularly reach 50C, leaving streets empty for much of the day. To protect labourers, the kingdom bans work under direct sunlight and outside during the hours of most intense heat from mid-June until mid-September. But these rules do little for indoor workers, many of whom, like Ahmed, have no choice but to toil in manmade sources of heat even at midday -- the hottest time of the day, which also coincides with busy lunch breaks. "Here by the fire, I suffer on both sides," he said, caught between the oven and the bakery's door, which does not shut properly and allows in hot air from outside. In June, Human Rights Watch called on Gulf countries to extend protections for workers toiling in the heat, considering current measures "insufficient". Saudi officials did not respond to an AFP request for comment. Ahmed left Egypt five years ago after he was offered 3,000 riyals ($800) to work in Riyadh -- a sum the struggling baker could not refuse. "I keep working and I endure for the sake of my family", who now have a better life thanks to his higher pay, he said. He works from 11:00 am to midnight, but fatigue sets in early. "By midday, I'm completely exhausted," he said. He cannot walk after his shift and has to "lie down for at least 30 minutes to get back to normal". Heat exhaustion Across the city, workers in bakeries, restaurants and laundries labour near indoor sources of heat all day long. Karim Elgendy, who heads the Carboun Institute think tank, warned they were just as exposed to health risks as those working outdoors. "Exposure to direct sunlight at 40C temperatures for an hour is comparable to being in front of an oven at 200C for a similar period," Elgendy said, warning that heat exhaustion and excessive sweating "can lead to severe dehydration, which puts pressure on vital organs". People working by an oven should take frequent breaks away from the heat, he added. But Hani al-Duaisi, who manages a grilled chicken shop, said that was impossible as the restaurant was packed with customers for most of the day. Along with three employees, the 26-year-old Yemeni toils in a cramped kitchen packed with a grill, a charcoal stove and large pots filled with steaming rice. "Even if you turn 10 air conditioners on, it won't cool the kitchen," he said, wiping away some sweat. Nearby, some customers began complaining about slightly delayed orders. "I feel like people outside live in one world, and we live in another," said Duaisi. "Our world here is hell." © 2025 AFP
