Heatwaves and fire warnings across Europe
At least four people have died in Spain, Albania and Montenegro due to heat and wildfires. Residents of the Balkans are experiencing the loss of their homes and property. Increasingly hot and dry summers increase the risk of wildfires.
MADRID/PODGORICA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans were battling multiple wildfires on Tuesday as another heatwave pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in parts of Europe.
According to scientists, global warming is bringing hotter and drier summers to the Mediterranean region, with fires appearing every year and often creating "flame tornadoes".
"We are being roasted alive, this cannot continue," said the mayor of a town in Portugal, Alexandre Favaios, as three fires burned in the region.
On the outskirts of the Spanish capital Madrid, a fire killed a man working in a horse stable and engulfed several homes and farms, but was contained on Tuesday, regional authorities said. One person also died in the fire in Albania, while a 61-year-old Hungarian seasonal worker is suspected of dying from heatstroke while picking fruit in Lleida, in the Catalonia region of Spain.
In the mountainous Kuci area of Montenegro, northeast of the capital Podgorica, one soldier was killed and another was seriously injured when a tanker overturned, the Ministry of Defense announced.
In Tarifa, on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, holidaymaker and celebrity chef Jose Andres filmed flames and black smoke billowing over the hills near whitewashed villas. More than 2,000 people were evacuated as the fire – believed to have started in eucalyptus and pine forests – spread, officials said. Helicopters doused the flames with seawater.
Authorities in Albania, Montenegro, Germany, Spain, Italy and France have issued various heat warnings.
