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Al Etihad
3 days ago
- Climate
- Al Etihad
Wildfires fanned by heatwave rage across Europe, burning houses and factories
13 Aug 2025 16:30 PATRAS/MADRID (REUTERS)Wildfires fanned by a heatwave and strong winds continued to rage across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning houses, farms and factories and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic on the outskirts of the Greek city of Patras, in the northern Peloponnese west of ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave their the Greek islands of Chios, in the east, and Cephalonia, in the west, both popular with tourists, authorities told people to move to safety as fires Spain, a volunteer firefighter died from severe burns and several people were hospitalised as state weather agency AEMET warned that almost all of the country was at extreme or very high risk of fire. The 35-year-old man had been attempting to create firebreaks near the town of Nogarejas, in the central Castile and Leon region, when he was trapped in the blaze, regional officials hosed down blazing houses and warehouses in villages in Castile and Leon, where more than 5,000 people were leader of the Galicia region in the northwest, Alfonso Rueda, called the situation there "complicated" and said the weather was not helping. Six active fires were affecting a combined 10,000 hectares (38 square miles) in Galicia's Ourense Albania, Defence Minister Pirro Vengu said it was a "critical week", with several major wildfires burning across the the southern city of Delvina, evacuees returned to their homes but authorities remained to douse the fires have been hampered by a heatwave across large parts of the was in its 10th day of a heatwave that peaked on Tuesday with temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), and which AEMET expected to last until Monday, making it one of the longest on record. Pope Leo moved his weekly audience from St. Peter's Square to an indoor venue in the Vatican, "to stay a little bit out of the sun and the extreme heat" as Italy's health ministry issued extreme heat warnings for 16 cities on Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to peak at 39C (102F) in Florence.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- New Straits Times
Volunteer firefighter dies as wildfires rage across heat-stricken Spain
MADRID: A firefighting volunteer died from severe burns, while several people were hospitalised as dozens of wildfires fuelled by strong winds and scorching heat continued to rage across Spain on Wednesday. At least six large wildfires were still out of control on Wednesday, according to regional emergency services. The victim, a 35-year old volunteer, had been attempting to create firebreaks near the town of Nogarejas, in the north-central Castile and Leon region, when he became trapped in the blaze, regional officials said. The fire had two active fronts that were still out of control, as weather services forecast another day of strong winds and electric storms. Over 5,000 people have been evacuated in the region, which is Spain's largest, and efforts were being concentrated on preventing the flames from reaching smaller towns. Environment Minister Sara Aagesen told SER radio station that many fires across the country were suspected to be intentionally caused by arsonists due to their "virulence", but that it was too early to quantify these. On Monday, another fire had killed a man working at a horse stable on the outskirts of the Spanish capital Madrid and reached some houses and farms before it was contained. Northwestern Galicia's regional leader Alfonso Rueda said the situation there was "complicated" and that the weather "isn't helping", as six active fires affected a combined 10,000 hectares in Ourense province. Weather agency AEMET forecast "extreme" risk of wildfires across Spain on Wednesday.
