Wildfires rage in Spain; France and UK brace for record temperatures as Europe battles intense heatwave
India Today
As Europe is facing an intense heatwave, France and the UK have braced for temperatures to hit another high. Meanwhile, a high alert has been issued in Spain as wildfires raged in many parts of the country.
Temperatures in some parts of southern Europe began to ease over the weekend but thousands of firefighters across the region still battled to contain hundreds of wildfires and authorities said the risk of further blazes remained extremely high.
Spain faced the eighth and last day of a more than week-long heatwave on Monday, which caused more than 510 heat-related deaths, according to estimates from the Carlos III Health Institute.
Firefighters struggled on Monday, July 18, to control a wildfire in Spain’s Catalonia which had blackened more than 1,600 hectares of land.
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The fire at El Pont de Vilomara, about 56 kilometres from Barcelona, flared up again on Monday after it was stabilised by firefighters, who damped down charred areas to prevent further outbreaks.
More than 350 firefighters were working to contain the blaze with 100 planes and fire tenders joining the fight. People are asked to be extremely cautious in the coming days and warned the fire alert will remain at high risk.
Meanwhile, plumes of smoke billowed into the sky in the northern town of Tabara.
