Europe groans under heat: red alert in UK, forest fires in France and deaths in Spain and Portugal

Let’s not beat around the bush: it will be hot. On Tuesday, the mercury in our local area could reach 40 degrees. That’s why RMI will announce Code Orange from Monday. This is a warning, in which it is important to drink enough, seek cool places and closely monitor the health of the weak.

Other European countries are also expected to record record temperatures in the coming days. Many countries are groaning under the heat for a while, which is having major consequences in many places.

In France, wildfires have been raging since Tuesday in the Gironde region around Bordeaux. They have already destroyed 9,000 hectares of forest. In the Arcachon arrondissement, it covers about 3,000 hectares of forest. “But the fire is still not under control,” deputy chief Ronan Leostick told the AFP news agency. 6,000 hectares of forest in the eastern part of Langone have already caught fire. The fire continues to grow.

1,200 firefighters are doing their best to bring the fire under control. Five firefighting aircraft have been flown to the area and several bulldozers are being used to build fire barriers to slow down and contain the fire.

Nearly 1,200 residents and vacationers have been evacuated since Tuesday. No casualties have been reported so far. The French government has announced Code Orange for 38 sectors. As the country does not cool down immediately, the fire brigade is also standing in other places, including south of Avignon, where the fire – now under control – has destroyed 1,400 hectares.

And in Portugal, many forests are still burning and temperatures are rising above 40 degrees. 30 degree temperatures persist even at night. The combination of those high temperatures, lack of rain and strong winds is causing problems.

Until Sunday, the third-highest state of emergency applies to all of Portugal. The nature conservation organization ICNF said 40,000 hectares of land had already been destroyed by the fire. Most of the fires were still burning in the north. Hundreds of firefighters are trying to bring the blaze under control, but Portugal does not have enough equipment to put it out.

Between July 7 and 13, Portugal reported 238 more deaths than the same period last year. Lusa news agency reported. This applies to elderly or already sick people. Additional deaths have been linked to the heat wave.

In Spain, a heat wave has killed 360 people since Sunday. La Vanguardia newspaper writes based on information from the Spanish health agency Carlos III. Yesterday 123 people lost their lives in a single day as the temperature rose above 45 degrees here and there.

Officials advise people to drink plenty of water, postpone physically demanding activities as much as possible, and stay indoors during the day. In Malaga, 3,000 people have been evacuated from their holiday homes as a massive forest fire approaches.

Temperatures of up to 40 degrees are expected in the southeast of England early next week. So the British government today held emergency consultations and declared a red alert phase for the first time in history. Passengers are advised not to travel by train or metro on Monday and Tuesday.

On the Croatian coast, wildfires are fueled by strong winds. The situation in Šibenik is more dramatic. The fire brigade was unable to prevent several cars and a church tower from going up in flames.

Several wildfires have also been reported in Greece, including in the Athens area. Eight people jumped into the sea to escape flames and smoke from a wildfire in Bibione, Italy. In southwestern Turkey, a fire has already broken out near the seaside resort of Tata.