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Hundreds more people were evacuated from their homes as wildfires blistered land in France, Spain and Portugal on Friday, and officials in Europe issued health warnings for the heatwave in coming days.
More than 1,000 firefighters, supported by water-bomber aircraft, have battled since Tuesday to control two blazes in southwestern France that have been fanned by scorching heat, tinder-box conditions and strong winds.
While temperatures dipped a little in Portugal, they were still expected to top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some places, with five districts on red alert for extreme weather and more than 1,000 firefighters tackling 13 wildfires, authorities said.
In Spain, the Environment Ministry said it was helping tackle 17 wildfires across the country.
Officials are worried about the effects on people’s health and on healthcare systems already challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic as the searing heat hits the continent, with warnings issued for worse to come in Britain in particular.
The World Meteorological Organization said on Friday the heatwave would trap atmospheric pollutants, degrading the air quality, especially in towns and cities.
“The stable and stagnant atmosphere acts as a lid to trap atmospheric pollutants, including particulate matter,” Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer, told a Geneva press briefing.
“These result in a degradation of air quality and adverse health effects, particularly for vulnerable people.”
From July 7 to July 13, Portugal registered 238 excess deaths due to the heatwave, the country’s DGS health authority said.
“In this specific case, the excess can be attributed to the heatwave. In the last few days we have had very high, extreme temperatures ... and for a very long period,” DGS chief Graça Freitas told Lusa news agency.
Health Minister Marta Temido said on Thursday the health system faced a “particularly worrying” week due to the heatwave and said some hospitals were overwhelmed.
