Firefighters on Thursday struggled to contain a wildfire that broke out in a mountainous national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 3,800 people.

The fire’s perimeter expanded to 31 kilometres (19 miles)across dry woodland covering both flanks of steep ravines near the Mount Teide volcano – Spain’s highest peak – hampering access to the area and covering much of the island with smoke clouds and ash.

The fire, which broke out on Wednesday, has burned through 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) of land.

“The night has been very tough…This is the most complex fire we’ve had in the Canary Islands in the last 40 years,” the region’s leader, Fernando Clavijo, told a news conference.

Scorching heat and dry weather this summer has contributed to unusually severe wildfires in Europe and western Canada.

Pedro Martinez, head of emergency services in Tenerife, said the fire had spread to the north and towards a valley where several camping sites are located.

While some villages were evacuated out of precaution, residents in a few others were ordered to stay home, affecting a further 3,500 people.

A prison and a migrant reception centre were in the areas under confinement, Clavijo said.

Civil protection removed 1,294 people from their homes in the municipality of El Rosario and 1,525 from areas of La Orotava on Thursday, with total evacuations reaching 3,800 people and more still being carried out.

Authorities deployed 17 aircraft and a combined 350 firefighters and military personnel. Additional waterbombing aircraft arrived from the mainland.

All access to the mountains on the island, including tourist-favourite Mount Teide, has been closed off to prevent any incidents.

Tenerife’s two airports were operating normally, Spanish airport operator Aena said.

Last week, a heatwave in the Canary Islands left many areas bone dry, heightening the risk of wildfires.

This summer, firefighters have extinguished a series of forest fires on the islands of Gran Canaria and La Palma, which form part of the Canary Islands archipelago.

Canadian Solar (CSIQ.O) on Thursday said it will supply 1,200 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy storage products to a project in Arizona.

Papago Storage, which will be operated by Canadian Solar’s subsidiary Recurrent Energy, will use e-STORAGE’s SolBank, a proprietary battery energy storage solution part of the Ontario-based company’s subsidiary CSI Solar.

Construction at the Arizona-based project is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2024, and will be the largest standalone energy storage project in the state once operational.

China, the world’s biggest renewable equipment manufacturer, will set up a recycling system for ageing wind turbines and solar panels as it tries to tackle the growing volumes of waste generated by the industry, the state planner said.

China has ramped up its wind and solar manufacturing capabilities in a bid to decarbonise its economy and ease its dependence on coal, and it is now on track to meet its goal to bring total wind and solar capacity to 1,200 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 758 GW at the end of last year.

But as older projects are replaced and decommissioned, waste volumes are set to soar, with large amounts of capacity already approaching retirement age, posing big environmental risks.

To cope with the challenge, China will draw up new industrial standards and rules detailing the proper ways to decommission, dismantle and recycle wind and solar facilities, the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Wednesday.

The state planning agency said that China would have a “basically mature” full-process recycling system for wind turbines and solar panels by the end of the decade.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels have a lifespan of around 25 years, and many of China’s projects are already showing significant signs of wear and tear, China’s official Science and Technology Daily newspaper said in June.

The paper cited experts as saying that China would need to recycle 1.5 million metric tons of PV modules by 2030, rising to around 20 million tons in 2050.

The problem of waste from the renewable energy sector has become a growing global concern. Total waste from solar projects alone could reach 212 million tons a year by 2050, according to one scenario drawn up by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) last year.

Kano State Government has warned residents to desist from dumpling of refuse in waterways in Sabon Gari area of Fagge Local Government.

The Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Alhaji Nasiru Garo, expressed disgust over the attitude of residents at Sabon Gari area on indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

He said such activities would lead to environmental pollution, citing the health hazards and its effects on climate change.

This is contained in a statement issued by Director, Public Enlightenment in the Ministry of Environment, Samaila Gwammaja, in Kano, the state capital, on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

The Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Alhaji Nasiru Garo, expressed disgust over the attitude of residents at Sabon Gari area in particular.

Garo said such activities would lead to environmental pollution, citing the health hazards and its effects on climate change.

He tasked the residents to complement government’s efforts by ensuring regular sanitation by clearing their drains and water ways to allow free flow of water during the rainy season.

The commissioner said, “State Government is passionate and committed to improve the living standard of its teeming populace regardless of tribes or religion to make their environment more habitable and conducive for living.”

The commissioner called on the residents “to always do the needful by desisting from polluting the environment with garbage and faeces, or particles obstructing free flow of water system which may eventually cause stagnation, breed mosquitoes and make the roads inaccessible.”

Leader of the delegation, Mrs. Scholastica Umejesi, said they were at the Commissioner’s Office to congratulate him on his appointment and intimate him about some environmental issues about the area for urgent government intervention.

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has reiterated his administration’s commitment to taking giant strides through initiatives in combating the effects of the so-called climate change.

Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance at the 10th Annual Association of Lagos State Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries (ALARHOSPS) Summit held at Alausa, Ikeja.

The summit had “Climate Change: Man, Nature and Threat To Life: Lagos State, A Case Study” as its theme.

The governor was represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat.

According to him, there is still much work to be done since the challenges require continuous innovation, collaboration and adaptation.

He added that his administration would ensure that the state had resilient communities and be able to protect vulnerable groups.

Earlier, Dr Olufemi Olugbile, President of ALARHOSPS, said that the summit was conceived as a mechanism for the association to fulfill its mandate as a think-tank for the government and people of Lagos State.

Olugbile said, “We hope to provide a useful guide on how, we as a society, navigate the terrain that we find ourselves in, concerning this crucial matter.”

The highpoint of the event was a Special Recognition Award to the immediate past Secretary to Lagos State Government, Mrs Folashade Jaji, for efforts in making the association more vibrant.