A fast-moving wildfire has forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate homes and camping sites near France's Atlantic coast as extreme heat and worsening drought continue to fuel wildfires across Europe.
Across Europe, three successive heatwaves this season have intensified drought, strained water supplies and left vegetation tinder-dry, helping wildfires scorch more land this year. The extreme heat has also been linked to thousands of deaths.
More than 10,000 people were evacuated overnight in southwestern France after a rapidly spreading wildfire burned through at least 2,400 hectares of land west of the city of Bordeaux, officials said on Thursday.
Around 500 firefighters are battling to control the blaze, the prefecture said, adding that no injuries had been reported.
The wildfire is burning near Arcachon Bay, a popular tourist destination, and many of those evacuated are visitors staying at camping sites.
"Overnight, the fire spread more quickly than we had imagined," said Philippe de Gonneville, the mayor of Lège-Cap-Ferret.
The Cap Ferret peninsula, often likened to the upscale Hamptons in the United States, is home to some expensive properties where wealthy Parisians and Bordelais come to sip white wine and feast on oysters.
The fire later reached the edge of Lège, forcing the evacuation of several campgrounds and neighborhoods close to the forest.
"We moved here two and a half years ago because it's a lovely place, and we don't know what we'll return to," said Jeanine Clarke, 46, evacuated to a nearby evacuation centre.
Wildfires remained a major challenge across Spain on Thursday, with authorities tackling several significant blazes.
Train services on Spain's Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line resumed on Thursday after a wildfire near the tracks prompted the suspension of services between Mejorada del Campo and Alcalá de Henares, east of Madrid.
Across central Spain, firefighters, emergency personnel and military units remained deployed as authorities monitored multiple active fires, including blazes in Guadalajara, Toledo, Ciudad Real and Albacete. More than 100,000 hectares have burned nationwide so far this year.
More than 10,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europe and Britain during the last two record-breaking heatwaves in May and late June, with scientists saying the only credible explanation for the unusually high toll was extreme heat.
Belgium said on Thursday that 27 June - during last month's heatwave - was the country's second deadliest day of the 21st century, with 650 deaths.
Europe is bearing the brunt of a rapidly warming climate, with temperatures rising more than twice as fast as the global average.
The Reuters Climate Monitor, an interactive tool tracking weather patterns, showed the average high temperature across Western Europe was forecast to reach 26.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday, 2.9C above the average high for 23 July during the 1961–1990 reference period.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on efforts to end t...
Two Greek military pilots were killed on Saturday when an F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed during an air show at Tanagra air base, north of Athens, ...
Israel launched fresh strikes on southern Lebanon early on Sunday, saying the attacks were in response to two Hezbollah drones targeting Israeli so...
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau has disrupted air travel, school activities and fishing operations, with hundreds of passengers stranded at Jakarta’s main airport on Sunday.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, according to three senior Iranian sources. Washington is escalating pressure in hopes of securing concessions in future negotiations.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the United States must recognise that the “rules of the game” in its war against Iran had changed “before it is too late”, a day after Washington struck several Iranian tankers in the Gulf.
Two Greek military pilots were killed on Saturday when an F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed during an air show at Tanagra air base, north of Athens, officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on efforts to end the Ukraine war.
U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told reporters on Saturday that there is no plan underway to force Palestinians out of Gaza, following Israel's government proposal on relocation plans for people in Gaza.
A Chinese national was pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, authorities said, 10 days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through a Himalayan valley, killing more than 1,300 people and leaving more than 5,600 missing.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment