Heat Apocalypse Warning In Western France As Thousands Flee Wildfires France

Nearly 25,000 people have been forced to leave homes, holiday rentals and campsites for emergency shelters in the Gironde department west of Bordeaux, with blazes in Spain, Portugal and Greece forcing thousands more to flee. Temperatures across southern Europe showed some signs of easing on Monday as the heat wave, which has seen temperatures top 40C across much of the region, moved north, including Britain, which was set for the hottest record day. Deadly wildfires are destroying thousands of hectares of land across Europe “It never stops,” said David Brunner, one of the 1,500 firefighters battling to control the Gironde fire, which since Tuesday has destroyed 14,000 hectares of pine forest near the Dune du Pilat, Europe’s highest sand dune and a summer tourism hotspot. “In 30 years of firefighting I have never seen a fire like this before.” An area 5.5 miles (9 km) long and 5 miles wide was still burning near the dune on Monday, with temperatures in the area forecast to reach 44 degrees Celsius. “We are refugees of climate change,” Théo Dayan, 26, told Le Monde after fleeing his home near the village of La Teste-de-Buch. Jean-Luc Gleyze, head of the local fire service, said: “We’re not reaching out and touching global warming – it’s hitting us in the face.” Forest fire near Louchats in Gironde. “It never stops,” one firefighter said of the area fire. Photo: Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images France’s interior ministry said it would send an additional three firefighting planes, 200 firefighters and more trucks. “In some southwestern areas it will be a thermal apocalypse,” meteorologist Francois Guarand told AFP. Fifteen departments have been put on the highest alert for extreme temperatures, including Brittany, where the coastal city of Brest was set to reach 40C on Monday, almost double the usual July average. Fires in France Last week’s extreme temperatures instantly claimed at least four lives in Spain and sparked dozens of fires – many of which are still burning – that have consumed nearly 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) across the country. On Monday, the Castilla y León regional government said the body of a 69-year-old man, said to be a shepherd, was found in a burned area near the small town of Escober de Tábara in Zamora province. The previous day, regional authorities also confirmed the death of a firefighter, Daniel Gullón Vara, who died fighting the flames in the same province. A 50-year-old man died of heatstroke on Sunday in Torrejón de Ardoz, near Madrid. A 60-year-old street sweeper died after suffering heatstroke while working in Madrid on Friday afternoon, prompting the city council to announce flexible working hours for city workers to avoid the hottest parts of the day. Fires in Spain In the south of the country, more than 3,200 people fled the fires in the Mijas hills, near Malaga, although some managed to return later. Spain’s Carlos III public health institute said 360 deaths were due to the heat between last Sunday and Friday – 123 of whom died on Friday alone. During a visit to the southwestern region of Extremadura on Monday morning, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez paid tribute to Gullón Vara and said the events of the past week were further proof of the climate crisis. “I want to make something very clear,” he said. “Climate change kills: it kills people, as we have seen. it’s also killing our ecosystem, our biodiversity, and it’s also destroying the things we love as a society – our homes, our businesses, our animals.” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (centre) visits an area affected by a forest fire in Puerto de Miravete, western Spain. Photo: Ballesteros/EPA The heat wave in Spain, with highs of 45 degrees Celsius and record temperatures in many parts of the country, is expected to end on Monday. In neighboring Portugal – where temperatures reached 47 degrees last week – the shaving fire was brought under control after it destroyed 12,000-15,000 hectares of land, killing two people and injuring 60 others. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, but the risk of wildfires remained very high, according to the Portuguese Meteorological Institute (IPMA). More than 1,000 firefighters, supported by 285 vehicles and 14 aircraft, were battling nine ongoing fires, mostly in the northern regions of the country, authorities said. As the mass of warm air pushes northwards, Belgium and Germany were among the countries expecting heatwave to hit them in the coming days. Britain was also on course for its hottest day on record on Monday, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C. The government issued its first red alert for extreme heat, while trains were cancelled, some schools closed early and ministers urged the public to stay at home. “We were hoping we wouldn’t get to this situation, but for the first time we’re forecasting over 40C in the UK,” said Nikos Christidis, of the Met Office. The country’s previous high, 38.7C, was recorded in Cambridge in 2019. After concluding that weather disasters caused by the climate crisis have cost Germany at least 80 billion euros since 2018, German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said the “horrifying” figures show the “huge damage” of the climate crisis. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST The report, published on Monday and commissioned by the economy and environment ministries, estimates that the impact of drought, floods and extreme heat in Germany between 2000 and 2021 was almost 145 billion euros, the most in recent years. “The numbers sound the alarm for more climate prevention,” Lemke said. “We need to invest and we will invest more in climate protection and adaptation to protect our people.” Heat waves are occurring more frequently, are more severe and last longer due to human-induced climate change. The world has warmed by about 1.1 C since the beginning of the industrial age, and temperatures will continue to rise unless carbon emissions fall sharply.

title: " Heat Apocalypse Warning In Western France As Thousands Flee Wildfires France " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-07” author: “Marylouise Stotts”

Nearly 25,000 people have been forced to leave homes, holiday rentals and campsites for emergency shelters in the Gironde department west of Bordeaux, with blazes in Spain, Portugal and Greece forcing thousands more to flee. Temperatures across southern Europe showed some signs of easing on Monday as the heat wave, which has seen temperatures top 40C across much of the region, moved north, including Britain, which was set for the hottest record day. Deadly wildfires are destroying thousands of hectares of land across Europe “It never stops,” said David Brunner, one of the 1,500 firefighters battling to control the Gironde fire, which since Tuesday has destroyed 14,000 hectares of pine forest near the Dune du Pilat, Europe’s highest sand dune and a summer tourism hotspot. “In 30 years of firefighting I have never seen a fire like this before.” An area 5.5 miles (9 km) long and 5 miles wide was still burning near the dune on Monday, with temperatures in the area forecast to reach 44 degrees Celsius. “We are refugees of climate change,” Théo Dayan, 26, told Le Monde after fleeing his home near the village of La Teste-de-Buch. Jean-Luc Gleyze, head of the local fire service, said: “We’re not reaching out and touching global warming – it’s hitting us in the face.” Forest fire near Louchats in Gironde. “It never stops,” one firefighter said of the area fire. Photo: Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images France’s interior ministry said it would send an additional three firefighting planes, 200 firefighters and more trucks. “In some southwestern areas it will be a thermal apocalypse,” meteorologist Francois Guarand told AFP. Fifteen departments have been put on the highest alert for extreme temperatures, including Brittany, where the coastal city of Brest was set to reach 40C on Monday, almost double the usual July average. Fires in France Last week’s extreme temperatures instantly claimed at least four lives in Spain and sparked dozens of fires – many of which are still burning – that have consumed nearly 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) across the country. On Monday, the Castilla y León regional government said the body of a 69-year-old man, said to be a shepherd, was found in a burned area near the small town of Escober de Tábara in Zamora province. The previous day, regional authorities also confirmed the death of a firefighter, Daniel Gullón Vara, who died fighting the flames in the same province. A 50-year-old man died of heatstroke on Sunday in Torrejón de Ardoz, near Madrid. A 60-year-old street sweeper died after suffering heatstroke while working in Madrid on Friday afternoon, prompting the city council to announce flexible working hours for city workers to avoid the hottest parts of the day. Fires in Spain In the south of the country, more than 3,200 people fled the fires in the Mijas hills, near Malaga, although some managed to return later. Spain’s Carlos III public health institute said 360 deaths were due to the heat between last Sunday and Friday – 123 of whom died on Friday alone. During a visit to the southwestern region of Extremadura on Monday morning, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez paid tribute to Gullón Vara and said the events of the past week were further proof of the climate crisis. “I want to make something very clear,” he said. “Climate change kills: it kills people, as we have seen. it’s also killing our ecosystem, our biodiversity, and it’s also destroying the things we love as a society – our homes, our businesses, our animals.” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (centre) visits an area affected by a forest fire in Puerto de Miravete, western Spain. Photo: Ballesteros/EPA The heat wave in Spain, with highs of 45 degrees Celsius and record temperatures in many parts of the country, is expected to end on Monday. In neighboring Portugal – where temperatures reached 47 degrees last week – the shaving fire was brought under control after it destroyed 12,000-15,000 hectares of land, killing two people and injuring 60 others. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, but the risk of wildfires remained very high, according to the Portuguese Meteorological Institute (IPMA). More than 1,000 firefighters, supported by 285 vehicles and 14 aircraft, were battling nine ongoing fires, mostly in the northern regions of the country, authorities said. As the mass of warm air pushes northwards, Belgium and Germany were among the countries expecting heatwave to hit them in the coming days. Britain was also on course for its hottest day on record on Monday, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C. The government issued its first red alert for extreme heat, while trains were cancelled, some schools closed early and ministers urged the public to stay at home. “We were hoping we wouldn’t get to this situation, but for the first time we’re forecasting over 40C in the UK,” said Nikos Christidis, of the Met Office. The country’s previous high, 38.7C, was recorded in Cambridge in 2019. After concluding that weather disasters caused by the climate crisis have cost Germany at least 80 billion euros since 2018, German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said the “horrifying” figures show the “huge damage” of the climate crisis. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST The report, published on Monday and commissioned by the economy and environment ministries, estimates that the impact of drought, floods and extreme heat in Germany between 2000 and 2021 was almost 145 billion euros, the most in recent years. “The numbers sound the alarm for more climate prevention,” Lemke said. “We need to invest and we will invest more in climate protection and adaptation to protect our people.” Heat waves are occurring more frequently, are more severe and last longer due to human-induced climate change. The world has warmed by about 1.1 C since the beginning of the industrial age, and temperatures will continue to rise unless carbon emissions fall sharply.