Wildfires rage as heatwave grips Europe
Southern areas hit by 40 C weather and dry conditions, sparking incidents
Italian authorities issued red alert warnings for seven major cities, including Florence and Bologna, with temperatures forecast to exceed 40 C in many locations this week.
In Spain's northwest region, emergency crews battled flames on Monday that ravaged a historic Roman mining complex and also displaced hundreds of locals, reported Al Jazeera.
Spain's Environment Minister Juan Carlos Suarez-Quinones said firefighters at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Las Medulas faced severe challenges from soaring temperatures and winds reaching 40 kilometers per hour.
He said the extreme conditions created dangerous "fire whirls" in the valley, which intensified when the flames spread to more open, oxygen-rich areas where temperatures approached 40 C.
Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central, and southern Spain, reported The Guardian newspaper. Near Madrid, a fire claimed one life and forced 180 residents of Tres Cantos to evacuate to local sports centers. Officials described the blaze, driven by dry storm winds exceeding 70 kilometers per hour, as "explosive" in nature.
Cristina Santin Nuno, a fire scientist at the Spanish National Research Council, told The Guardian the combination of a wet spring in Spain followed by extreme heat and strong winds created perfect fire conditions.
"If we add to this the relatively easy possibility that a spark can ignite a fire somewhere … we have all the ingredients for the 'Molotov cocktail' we're seeing right now," she said.
A large-scale firefighting operation involving nearly 700 personnel was underway in northern Portugal, where flames have been burning since Saturday in the Trancoso region, 350 kilometers from Lisbon.
In Turkiye's Canakkale province, fires near the tourist village of Guzelyali forced more than 2,000 evacuations and hospitalized 77 people for smoke inhalation. More than 760 firefighters with aerial support battled the flames during what officials confirmed as Turkiye's hottest July in 55 years.
Scientists say Europe is experiencing a faster rate of warming attributed to climate change than the global average, with the trend threatening its infrastructure and people's health.
