
Spain wildfires destroy 30,000 more hectares as heatwave ends
This marks Spain's most destructive fire season since records began in 2006, exceeding 2022's total of 306,000 hectares lost. The worst damage stems from massive blazes in Zamora, Leon, Ourense and Caceres provinces.
Authorities have evacuated thousands from dozens of villages as flames continue spreading. Major road closures and suspended rail services between Madrid and Galicia remain in effect.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez plans to visit fire-ravaged areas in Zamora and Caceres on Tuesday. Firefighters gained some relief as Spain's 16-day heatwave finally ended.
Temperatures dropped 10-12 degrees Celsius with increased humidity, improving containment conditions. 'These changes are facilitating and improving the conditions to gain control of the fires,' said Castile and Leon government representative Nicanor Sen. - AFP

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The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Portugal wildfires death toll rises to three as heatwave fuels blazes
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The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Madrid's poor neighbourhoods clamour for more trees to cool streets in deadly heatwaves
MADRID (Reuters) -As Madrid sweltered at the peak of one of Spain's longest-ever heatwaves, the temperature on a street in one of its poorest neighbourhoods - Puente de Vallecas - measured 41.4 degrees Celsius (106.5 Fahrenheit) by early afternoon. A few hundred metres down the street it was 38.6 C. The difference? One section of the street was treeless while the other was shaded by a row of leafy mulberries. According to scientific studies, trees can play a key role in mitigating the often-deadly effects of heatwaves and as temperatures in Spain rise as a result of global warming they may play a crucial role in helping to regulate temperatures. However, activist groups say that Madrid has been losing tree cover, particularly in some of its poorer neighbourhoods, and are pushing the mayor to plant more. 'The difference between having or not having trees on your street has an immediate impact on your health,' said Manuel Mercadal, a member of activist group Sustainable Vallekas, which has been measuring temperature differences on Vallecas's streets to raise awareness. San Diego, a part of Puente de Vallecas, registered some of the highest temperatures in Madrid, according to a Polytechnic University of Madrid study, which identified so-called "urban heat islands" where temperatures were as much as 8 C higher than in other parts of the city, such as parks. The heat is exacerbated by a lack of air conditioning because many households can't afford it, said Pablo Chivato, a coordinator of the neighbourhood association for Puente de Vallecas. More frequent heatwaves are taking their toll on elderly patients, especially those with underlying cardiac problems, said Antonio Cabrera, a family doctor at a primary care centre in La Elipa in southeastern Madrid. "Higher mortality rates were traditionally associated with winter in European countries. Nowadays, for people aged 80–90 with multiple health conditions, this is the time of year when many of them die," Cabrera said. TREE CLASHES As temperatures rise, trees have become a political issue. Madrid's Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida has clashed with activists over trees since taking power in 2019, particularly over plans to cut down more than 1,000 trees for the extension of a metro line. Official data show that while the total number of trees has increased by 2.4% under Almeida's watch, that was mostly in the expanding middle-income districts in the city's east. All except one of the southern districts lost trees. Puente de Vallecas has lost 1,314 trees or 3% of its total tree cover since 2019. Some of the loss was caused by a heavy snowstorm in 2021 that killed 80,000 trees. But many are also felled as the city embarks on construction projects. The mayor's office didn't respond to a request for comment. Left-wing party Mas Madrid has pledged to plant 75,000 more trees so that the city has one tree every seven metres (23 feet). The law used to stipulate that felled trees must be replaced, but a recent reform means local councils in certain circumstances can create a fund into which to pay what it would have cost to plant new trees, said Lola Mendez of the environmental group Ecologists in Action. Almeida's office said it has planted nearly 40,000 trees in empty tree pits under a plan announced in 2022. Data published by the city in 2023 showed 1,318 trees were planted in Puente de Vallecas, but that 719 empty tree pits were covered over. The city hasn't published more recent data. Chivato said his neighbourhood association worked with the mayor's office to plant trees in 75% of empty tree pits in the Puente de Vallecas neighbourhood of San Diego. But many remain empty. (Reporting by Charlie Devereux and Michael Francis Gore; additional reporting by Antoine Demaison; Editing by Sharon Singleton)


The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Showered by rocks and rain
Race against time: Rescue workers and residents searching for victims in the debris of collapsed houses after a cloudburst in Dalori village in the mountainous northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. — AFP In the middle of the night, by the glow of their mobile phones, rescuers and villagers dug through the concrete remains of flattened houses after massive rocks crashed down on a remote Pakistani village following a cloudburst. Using hammers, shovels, and in many cases their bare hands to clear the rubble and open blocked pathways, they searched through the debris in darkness, with no electricity in the area. In just minutes, a torrent of water and rocks swept down on the village of Dalori on Monday, destroying at least 15 houses, damaging several others and killing nine people. Around 20 villagers were trapped under the debris. 'A huge bang came from the top of the mountain, and then dark smoke billowed into the sky,' Lal Khan, a 46-year-old local labourer, said. 'A massive surge of water gushed down with the sliding mountain,' he added. The cloudburst above Dalori came a few days into heavy monsoon rains that have already killed more than 350 people across mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, along the northwest border with Afghanistan. Torrential rains in northern Pakistan since last week have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, with around 200 people still missing. Khan recalled seeing the hand of his neighbour sticking out of the rubble, where rescuers later retrieved her body along with those of her four children. 'We are absolutely helpless. We don't have the means to tackle this calamity that nature has sent upon us,' Khan added. Fellow resident Gul Hazir said not one but several cloudbursts from two sides of the village struck the remote valley. 'It was like an apocalyptic movie. I still can't believe what I saw,' Hazir said. 'It was not the water that struck first, but a massive amount of rocks and stones that smashed into the houses,' Hazir said. Local administration official Usman Khan said at the site that many of the houses had been built in the middle of the stream bed, which worsened the scale of destruction. 'There was no way for the water to recede after the cloudburst struck at least 11 separate locations in the area,' he said. 'It is immensely challenging to carry out operations here, as heavy machinery cannot pass through the narrow alleys.' Saqib Ghani, a student who lost his father and was searching for other relatives, tried to claw through the concrete with his bare hands before rescuers pulled him away and villagers gave him water. Dalori has already held funerals for five victims, while women mourned in darkened homes with no electricity since the disaster. In the village's narrow alleys, unattended cattle wandered freely amid the devastation. 'I will not live here anymore,' said a grieving woman, draped in a large shawl, as she followed a coffin being carried through the street. — AFP