Extreme heat, devastating fires | The Press

Civilians evacuated by the thousands and forests ravaged by fire: the extreme heat wave that is engulfing Europe is only a taste of the years to come, warns an expert. Meanwhile, near Lytton, Canada, the community razed by a wildfire last year is once again threatened by flames.

Lea Carrier
The Press

Southern France ravaged by fire

“The duration of this heat wave is quite exceptional, especially at the start of the season, and it is symptomatic of what awaits us,” says Professor Philippe Gachon, from the geography department of the University of Quebec in Montreal.

For nearly a week, an extreme heat wave has hit several countries in Western Europe, including France.

In Gironde, in the south of the country, forest fires are raging. Already more than 14,000 residents and vacationers have been forced to evacuate dangerous areas. On Saturday, 1,200 firefighters were mobilized to try to control two fires which devoured 10,000 hectares in the space of a few days.

These destructive fires broke out at the start of a heat wave which is expected to last until next week in France. In total, 38 departments are affected by an orange alert, with maximum forecasts of 35 to 40 ° C in certain sectors.

According to Mr. Gachon, this unprecedented heat wave is due to a combination of factors that announce the years to come in Europe, namely “high pressure systems that remain blocked, a lack of precipitation and oppressive heat coming up from Africa of the North,” explains the climate change specialist.

UK on high alert

After Spain, Portugal and France, the United Kingdom is in turn preparing for an imminent heat wave.

A British government crisis committee met on Saturday for this purpose, in the noticed (and denounced) absence of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was organizing a party at Checkers, the country mansion of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

For the first time ever in the country, a “danger to life” alert has been issued due to the threat of extreme heat.

It was the Met Office, the country’s meteorological agency, which sounded the alarm on Friday. Exceptional temperatures of 40°C are expected early next week across much of the country. The heat record in the United Kingdom dates back to 2019, when the country recorded 38.7 ° C.

According to the Met Office, the heat wave could lead to “widespread impacts on people and infrastructure”.

During a heat wave, the mercury remains high even at night. For the elderly or vulnerable, this is particularly problematic, explains the professor.

“The fatigue accumulated during the day trying to tolerate the very high temperatures, they are not able to recover it during the night,” he says.

Calm in Portugal

After several days marked by devastating fires, Portugal experienced a relative calm on Saturday. Only one major fire was still active in the north of the country, but it seemed to be losing intensity, reported Agence France-Presse journalists on the spot.

The day before, a water bomber plane pilot died when he crashed while fighting a forest fire in the Guarda region.

Last week’s fires left two dead and around 60 injured, according to the most recent report from the Portuguese authorities. Between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares of forest and scrub also went up in smoke.

“Every year in this season, there are fires here, but usually it’s not so strong,” testified to AFP Maria, a 71-year-old retired teacher living in the village of Eiriz. .

Before dropping slightly on Friday, temperatures had reached 47 ° C the day before in the north, a record for a month of July in this country.

Episodes like these, there will be more and more of them in Europe, underlines Mr. Gachon. The countries most at risk border the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Italy, France and Greece. But Northern Europe, including Germany or Scandinavia, is not immune.

“Climate change is accelerating and taking on a scale that we did not anticipate a few years ago”, underlines Philippe Gachon, in reference to the IPCC report released in February.

Violent fire near Lytton

In Canada, a forest fire is progressing near Lytton, this small community in British Columbia that was razed by fire last year. Evacuation orders have been issued for a dozen properties and for certain territories.

In Manitoba, the forest fires also drove out some 65 members of the Mathias Colomb First Nation, who were evacuated by plane or helicopter. According to the Manitoba Wildfire Service website, 41 fires are active in the province.

Like Western Europe, North America, including Canada, is at risk of extreme heat waves, says Philippe Gachon.

In Quebec, the specialist observes “a summer season which is getting longer”. The heat “starts earlier and also takes a long time to disappear in autumn”.

“What is problematic is the combined effect of several phenomena [comme l’absence de précipitations et les chaleurs accablantes] which will increase the likelihood of having large-scale forest fires,” concludes Philippe Gachon.

With Agence France-Presse and The Guardian