Wildfires continue to spread across France, Spain and Portugal on Thursday as record heat waves ravage Europe, prompting the head of the European Space Agency to warn against climate change. urged to demand immediate action to change.
A 'monster' wildfire destroyed thousands of hectares in the Gironde region of southwestern France, just two weeks after another fire broke out in the same area.
More than 1,000 firefighters are fighting to contain the blaze that has forced nearly 10,000 people from their homes.
About 79% of his 250,000 firefighters in France are volunteers, according to data from the French Fire Service. And 10,000 people are deployed across the country to fight wildfires, including the Gironde fire, exacerbated by intense heat waves and violent winds.
Like France, the Portuguese fire brigade is in his sixth day fighting wildfires, destroying some 10,500 hectares in the central Covilha region and part of the Serra da Estrela National Park. it was done.
Extreme weather and climate change are widely blamed for increasingly common heatwaves, melting glaciers and flooding.
The head of the European Space Agency, Joseph He Aschbacher, reported that these extreme climate events are beginning to hit agriculture and other vital industries.
"It's pretty bad. We've seen extreme phenomena that have never been observed before," Ashbacher told Reuters.
Extreme drought conditions have also hit other parts of the European Union, with France and Germany affected by slowing agricultural production and water shortages.
