Blazes raging in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee
A seaplane unloads retardant on the flames of a forest fire on July 17, 2022, in Castellgali, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The fire started today Sunday at noon and already affects 95 hectares, and 81 firefighting teams of the Bombers de la Generalitat are working to extinguish it, of which 13 are aerial. Image: Lorena Sopena/Europa Press via Getty Images
Firefighters battled to contain wildfires sweeping across southwest Europe on Sunday as a heatwave showed no sign of abating, with Britain poised to set new temperature records this coming week.
Blazes raging in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee.
It is the second heatwave to engulf parts of southwest Europe in weeks. Scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather such as heatwaves and drought.
Spanish authorities reported around 20 wildfires still raging out of control in different parts of the country from the south to Galicia in the far northwest, where blazes have destroyed around 4,500 hectares of land.