The weather map for Europe on Sunday was bright red as London — Spain and Italy were burned down and the fires that ignited in southwestern France headed north toward England.
London was warm at the heights of the 80’s, but temperatures on Monday and Tuesday reached over 100 degrees Celsius, and it was predicted to break records where air conditioning was low and buildings were built to keep warm.
In France, the extreme temperatures that caused wildfires in the south, especially The Atlantic coast prepared for the characteristic scorching weather.
In Italy, where Sunday temperatures were expected to be in the 90’s, the heat was bad enough, but the country has experienced the worst drought in a few years. The government has allocated € 36.5 million, or about $ 36.8 million, to water-scarce farmers in the northern region. The two hydropower plants had to be closed in the area because there was not enough water to cool them.
And in Spain, the heat wave entered the 8th day, and 30 wildfires broke out nationwide. Even after the sun has set, it is difficult to find relief. Saturday night was the fifth consecutive “trid night” in Madrid, used when temperatures did not drop below 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The previous record was 3 nights. Ruben del Campo, a spokesman for the National Meteorological Agency, said more than half of the 27 fierce nights recorded in the last century, 15 since 2012.
Like elsewhere on the planet, Europe is experiencing more frequent extreme weather events, partly due to the consequences of climate change. As evidence, we need to look back on last summer, when floods struck Germany and other countries in July, killing hundreds of people. In August, several wildfires consumed a large area of Greece. Also, in August, one town in Sicily may have recorded the hottest temperatures ever in Europe. It is 124 degrees Fahrenheit.
But on Sunday, France’s attention focused on wildfires in southwestern Gironde near Bordeaux. There, more than 1,200 firefighters were still struggling to contain the two separate flames.
Since Tuesday, local officials said the fire had destroyed more than 25,000 acres of vegetation and forced more than 14,000 people to evacuate.
So far, four firefighters have been slightly injured, and damage to buildings and homes has been minimized, they said. Still, officials warned that the situation was volatile due to expected rising temperatures and changing winds on Monday.
“Weather conditions are very, very bad,” Vincent Ferrer, a local official in Langon, a region of Gironde, told reporters on Sunday. “These are clearly the worst situations that can occur when fighting a fire.”
In Rome, which was in the 90’s last week, street sellers were dozing in the shade on Sunday morning while tourists were pouring water from a famous fountain into a water bottle.
“It’s hot. It’s too hot to walk around during the day,” said Serena Bendoni, 57, a beautician from northern Italy who was visiting Rome with her family on a long weekend. “But it’s hot at home. We’ve been turning on AC every night for almost two months now.”
She said her family’s electricity bill soared because temperatures rarely fell below 86 for several weeks.
“I want to be careful with AC,” Bendoni said. In Europe, energy prices are skyrocketing, partly due to the effects of the Ukrainian War. “But we have to be able to live in the house — and we have to be able to sleep.”
On Sunday in the UK, people had their own plans to withstand the coming heat. The forecasts for Monday and Tuesday were disastrous — On Friday, the National Weather Service issued the strictest warning to most of London and Great Britain.
Warnings, “red” warnings, are intended to convey a risk to life, and health officials have emphasized that even healthy people can be adversely affected.The public was warned to try Stay away from the sun from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, Make only an essential journey To avoid exercising and carry water during the hottest months of the day.
The report was contributed by Aurelian Breeden From Paris Francesca Melendez Foz do Farelo, Portugal, Gaia Pianijani From rome Yuan Ward From London.
