France and Britain were set to suffer soaring temperatures on Wednesday, with a heatwave in Western Europe fuelling wildfires across vast stretches of forestland.
Since Sunday, large parts of the Iberian Peninsula have seen temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Spain and Portugal, where firefighters have battled wildfires.
In southern France since Tuesday afternoon, a wildfire scorched through 800 hectares of pine trees just south of Bordeaux, pushing 150 residents to evacuate their homes, according to the local fire department.
And near the Dune of Pilat — Europe’s tallest sand dune — another fire consumed about 180 hectares of old pine trees, authorities said.
Firefighters are working through the night on the sandy terrain to “cut the head off the fire”, an official told AFP, adding that the blaze has been contained.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has urged all government ministers to be ready to deal with the consequences of the heatwave, which is forecast to last for up to 10 days.
“The heat affects people’s health very quickly, especially that of the most vulnerable,” her office said in a statement.
Heatwaves have become more frequent due to climate change, scientists say. As global temperatures rise over time, they are expected to become more intense.
The previous such phenomenon to blight France, Portugal and Spain occurred in mid-June.
“We do expect it to worsen,” World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Clare Nullis told a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
“Accompanying this heat is drought. We’ve got very, very dry soils,” she said.
She added that despite being early in the summer, “it’s been a very bad season for the glaciers”.
Last week an avalanche triggered by the collapse of the largest glacier in the Italian Alps — due to unusually warm temperatures — killed 11 people.
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