Latest European heatwave news: Travelers in the UK have warned that Italy and Spain are struggling to control wildfires

Residents do everything they can to try to keep cool – stay indoors, stay hydrated and leave dog walks until late so paws don’t burn. Graham Kelly Reports from Madrid:

For Kinvara Vaughan, the prospect of record temperatures reaching the Mediterranean from Tuesday fills her with dread.

“I saw the headline: the heat storm is heading for Europe this week. It’s terrifying,” she says from her home in Marbella, in the south of the country. Spain.

Scientists said this year will be the hottest on record for Earth, with sweltering heat waves across the northern hemisphere and one global temperature record after another being broken.

An analysis published in July by Berkley Earth found that there is a more than 80 percent chance that 2023 will be the hottest year on record.

The organisation, which analyzes global temperatures each month and predicts extreme temperature records, had earlier in May put the chance of 2023 being the hottest year at 54 percent.

Since then, Earth has recorded its hottest July on record, ocean heatwaves have knocked off the charts, and unprecedented heatwaves have hit region after region of the world.

Europe is set to continue baking under sweltering heat for weeks as global temperatures rise towards alarmingly high levels with records expected to be broken.

Another anticyclone dubbed Charon, who in Greek mythology was the driver of the dead, advanced into the Mediterranean from North Africa on Sunday and could soon push temperatures above 45C in parts of Italy and Spain. and Greece.

The relentless heatwave showed no sign of abating on Tuesday, as Italy braces for its hottest ever record with Sardinia and Sicily expected to hit 48C.

Swiss firefighters battled a forest fire on Tuesday that has forced the evacuation of more than 200 people, and authorities warned the fire could spread further if the winds pick up and take days or weeks to be fully extinguished.

A fire broke out on Monday on the forested side of the Vieche mountain in the Valais canton, near the Italian border. Helicopters flew overhead all night, dropping water on the fires.

Mario Schaller, who is in charge of firefighting operations, said it could take days or weeks to put out the fire, which has spread to 100 hectares of forest.

“No one has been injured so far, and no buildings have been damaged,” he said.

Officials said that although there was large amounts of smoke, the fire began to subside on Tuesday, but it could easily spread if the winds pick up again.

“During the night, the aim was to contain the fire in the area where the villages were being evacuated,” said cantonal police spokeswoman Adrienne Bielwald.

“Fortunately, the wind has calmed down… It is calm now, but it can change with the wind.”

The Federal Office for the Environment has warned that wildfires may become more frequent, especially in the summer, due to the increase in hot and dry weather due to climate change.

The provincial police department said an investigation has been launched to find out the cause of the fire.

Large areas of Europe, Asia and the United States suffer from severe weather, and the World Meteorological Organization warned that the heat wave in the northern hemisphere will intensify this week.

Wildfires broke out outside Athens on Monday, July 17, forcing thousands to flee seaside resorts after days of sweltering heat.

Temperatures reached 40°C in several areas across Greece over the weekend and could do so again this week, with Tuesday expected to be the hottest.

The footage shows a helicopter dropping water on the flames as flames rise and thick smoke appears in the night footage.

High winds drove flames through hilly areas and dry pine forests due to the high temperatures.

Two large fires approached summer resort towns with winds of up to 70 kilometers per hour (45 mph), prompting evacuation orders for at least six coastal communities.

Authorities said the wildfire that forced the evacuation of 4,000 people on Monday (July 17) was brought under control as temperatures cooled, but firefighters continued to work on active fronts and the situation was far from stable due to accessibility issues.

The fires broke out in La Palma in the early hours of Saturday in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a forested area in the north of the island, necessitating the evacuation of people from the neighboring villages of Puntagorda and Tijaravi.

In Spain, temperatures can go as high as 44°C in some areas and will not go below 25°C at night, which increases the possibility of wildfires.

The World Meteorological Organization said today, Tuesday, that the heat wave sweeping the northern hemisphere is set to intensify this week, causing temperatures to rise overnight and increasing the risk of heart attacks and deaths.

“Temperatures in North America, Asia, across North Africa and the Mediterranean will be above 40 degrees Celsius for an extended number of days this week as the heat wave intensifies,” the World Meteorological Organization said in a statement.

Overnight minimum temperatures are also set to reach new highs, according to the World Meteorological Organization, creating risks of increased cases of heart attacks and deaths.

“While most attention focuses on extreme temperatures during the day, it is the temperatures during the night that pose the greatest health risks, especially for vulnerable populations,” said the World Meteorological Organization.

A researcher specializing in the study of heat waves said, in an interview with reporters in Geneva, that the high temperatures that Europe is currently witnessing are bound to increase.

“The heatwave in the Mediterranean is significant but nothing like what happened in North Africa,” said John Nairn, senior advisor to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “It’s evolving into Europe at this point.”

Watch live as experts from the World Meteorological Organization speak to reporters during a UN briefing on extreme temperatures and the health impact of the current high temperatures.

The Greek authorities said that forest fires intensified yesterday night, Tuesday, and swept through forests north of Athens for the second day on Tuesday, while firefighters succeeded in containing other fires in the southeast and west of the Greek capital.

A fire broke out in an uncontrollably burning forest in the Dervinochoria region, about 30 kilometers north of Athens, a fire service official said on Tuesday. Greek media reported that the fire threatened a pig farm.

Another fire weakened on Tuesday, after it first broke out on Monday in the village of Kovaras, about 27 kilometers (17 miles) southeast of the Greek capital. Due to the change of winds, this fire quickly spread to the coastal towns of Anavisos, Lagonissi and Saronida, forcing people to flee their homes.

However, a Greek fire service official said on Tuesday, 230 firefighters assisted by 76 fire engines and five helicopters were still working at various locations in the area.

“The civil protection forces put up a battle all night,” Greek fire service spokesman Ioannis Artobios said in a televised briefing, adding that crews had been replaced to tame the fire on multiple fronts.

More than 7,000 acres of land have been reduced to ashes along the coast, where many Athenians have holiday homes, a mayor told Greek television.

A thick layer of white smoke was seen from Athens as a third fire broke out near the seaside resort of Loutraki, about 80 km west of the capital.

Greece’s meteorological service warned of a fire risk this week, just as the country is recovering from the summer’s first major heatwave. A second heat wave is expected later this week.

Britons traveling to Europe have been told to sign up for emergency alerts as the country is experiencing “extreme temperatures” and wildfires.

The British Foreign Office has updated travel advice for Spain and Greece, as Britons warn of travel disruption as temperatures rise.

It comes after thousands of people were evacuated from at least six coastal communities near Athens after bushfires threatened their homes.

Much of Greece has been baking in near 40C conditions as the heatwave grips the continent, with higher temperatures expected in the southeastern European country later this week and into the weekend.