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Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Spain battles 20 major wildfires amid scorching heat, deploys more troops
VILLARDEVÓS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Scorching heat hampered efforts to contain 20 major wildfires across Spain on Sunday, prompting the government to deploy an additional 500 troops from the military emergency unit to support firefighting operations. In the northwestern region of Galicia, several fires have converged to form a large blaze, forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region. Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades, with Spain among the hardest-hit countries. In the past week alone, fires there have claimed three lives and burned more than 115,000 hectares, while neighbouring Portugal also battles widespread blazes. Temperatures are expected to reach up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some areas on Sunday, Spanish national weather agency AEMET said. "There are still some challenging days ahead and, unfortunately, the weather is not on our side," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a news conference in Ourense, one of the most affected areas. He announced an increase in military reinforcements, bringing the total number of troops deployed across Spain to 1,900. Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services, told Spanish public TV temperatures were expected to drop from Tuesday, but for now the weather conditions were "very adverse". "Today there are extremely high temperatures with an extreme risk of fires, which complicates the firefighting efforts," Barcones said. In the village of Villardevos in Galicia, desperate neighbours have organised to fight the flames on their own with water buckets as the area was left without electricity to power water pumps. "The fireplanes come in from all sides, but they don't come here," Basilio Rodriguez, a resident, told Reuters on Saturday. Added Lorea Pascual, another local resident: "It's insurmountable, it couldn't be worse". Interior ministry data show 27 people have been arrested and 92 were under investigation for suspected arson since June. In neighbouring Portugal, wildfires have burnt some 155,000 hectares of vegetation so far this year, according to provisional data from the ICNF forestry protection institute - three times the average for this period between 2006 to 2024. About half of that area burned just in the past three days. Thousands of firefighters were battling eight large blazes in central and northern Portugal, the largest of them near Piodao, a scenic, mountainous area popular with tourists. Another blaze in Trancoso, further north, has now been raging for eight days. A smaller fire a few miles east claimed a local resident's life on Friday - the first this season.
The Independent
9 hours ago
- The Independent
Smoke from Europe wildfires create hazy conditions across the UK
Smoke from wildfires in Southern Europe, combined with Saharan dust, has caused hazy conditions across the UK. The Met Office forecasts that these conditions will lead to enhanced sunsets and sunrises with deeper red and orange hues over the coming days. This atmospheric phenomenon is due to Mie scattering, where larger particles from wildfires, such as soot and ash, scatter light differently. The haze is affecting the UK's current heatwave, which saw some areas reach temperatures above 33C. Wildfires are extensively impacting Spain and Portugal, with Spain battling 14 major fires, resulting in seven fatalities and over 157,000 hectares burned this year.
The Independent
20 hours ago
- The Independent
European wildfire smoke dampens UK heatwave with unusually hazy conditions
Smoke from wildfires in Southern Europe has brought hazy conditions to the UK, disrupting the current heatwave, forecasters have said. The UK experienced the fourth heatwave of the summer this week, with some areas seeing the mercury climb above 33C in the hottest places. However, the Met Office said "smoke from wildfires in Spain and Portugal, plus Saharan dust, has drifted over the UK'. This means the UK should expect "enhanced sunsets and sunrises in the coming days - deeper reds and oranges thanks to light scattering,' the forecaster added. Scientists say the phenomenon is linked to two processes known as Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering. Rayleigh scattering, caused by tiny air molecules, normally makes the sky appear blue by scattering shorter wavelengths of light, such as violet and blue, according to the Royal Meteorological Society. But larger particles released by wildfires, such as soot and ash, trigger Mie scattering, which scatters all wavelengths more evenly and allows longer red and orange wavelengths to dominate. Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told Sky News the haze "will hang around for the next few days". The Met Office's forecast for Sunday says low clouds retreating towards the North Sea means there will be 'plenty of sunshine for most'. There will be strong winds in the South West of England, and it will remain warm along the eastern coast. Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London. Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. An early two-week heatwave and southerly winds were worsening the situation in Spain, Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services, said. Wildfires have burned more than 157,000 hectares in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service. In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country, with one fire in Trancoso, some 350 km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days. Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The EU monitoring agency says that 2024 was the hottest year on record both globally and in Europe, which experienced its second-highest number of 'heat stress' days.
