A provisional toll has fallen in a Spain crossed by flames: more than 500 people are said to have died in connection with the current heat wave, according to the Carlos III Institute of Public Health. And in reaction to these figures, the country’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, hammered home that “the climate emergency is a reality”, that “climate change kills”.
Passing through the Aragon region, the Spanish head of state saw the ravages of brush and forest fires. Tens of thousands of hectares went up in smoke during this second heat wave in barely a month.
The Spanish meteorological agency also estimates, according to preliminary data, that this heat wave would be the most intense ever recorded in the country and the third longest. Since July 10, the mercury has shattered many records, repeatedly passing the 40°C mark.
Beginning of calm in France
Beyond the Pyrenees, the situation seems to be calming down. In France, where major forest fires are still raging, the situation seems to be slowing down. A spokesman for the fire brigade, Arnaud Mendousse, said that “the results are rather positive”, even if the fires “are still not fixed”.
The blazes of La Teste-de-Buch and Landiras, in Gironde, both declared on July 12, only consumed 300 hectares on Wednesday, bringing the balance sheet to more than 20,000 charred hectares.
Other signs that the situation is balancing out: no evacuations were ordered overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in this region of southwestern France. To date, nearly 36,750 Girondins have left their homes behind.
French President Emmanuel Macron, visiting La Teste-de-Buch on Wednesday, said France would have to “buy more” planes to fight the fires because forest fires are likely to become more frequent.
“The night has been satisfying, the day is encouraging, [mais] it’s been such a special fire from the start that we would be careful not to believe that the difficulty is behind us, ”said Ronan Léaustic, the sub-prefect of Arcachon, a neighboring town, on Wednesday morning.
Discontent wins over London
In the United Kingdom, discontent is gaining part of the population after the 40 ° C mark was exceeded for the first time on Tuesday. Environmental activists have blocked the highway that surrounds the British capital to protest against the government’s inaction in the face of the climate crisis.
The demonstrators created a monster traffic jam of about fifteen kilometers after having crossed gantries above the M25 motorway located in London. The police announced the arrest of three people in connection with this action.
“We just had temperatures of 40°C, which we’ve been predicting for decades. Maybe it’s happening a little faster, but it just shows how unprepared the government is for climate change, and it’s obvious we can’t go on like this,” a doorman said. word of the group Just Stop Oil, which campaigns for the stopping of new infrastructures linked to fossil fuels.
The wind is blowing north and east
The scorching scourge moved to Eastern Europe, as hundreds of firefighters were deployed in Slovenia, near the Italian border. The forested Karst region, whose vegetation has been dried out by the high heat, has been engulfed in flames since Tuesday, and the situation intensified on Wednesday under the effect of the wind.
“We will never be able to contain the fire during the day,” commented Srecko Sestan, head of the civil security forces, quoted by the N1 news website. “Let’s hope it doesn’t become the worst in history,” he added.
Temperatures continue to rise in Eastern Europe, particularly in Austria and Hungary, where a “heat alert” has been issued.
The heat overwhelms even the northern regions. Denmark smashed its thermometer, recording 35.6 ° C in Borris, in the west of the country, a peak for the month of July. The previous record for the place, at 35.3°C, dates back to 1941.
In neighboring Sweden, an alert covering a large part of the country is in effect until the end of the day on Thursday. “It will be very hot, with temperatures up to 30-35 degrees,” the country’s meteorological agency warned.
With Duty