FIREFIGHTERS BATTLED THREE wildfires in Spain as a heatwave that has enveloped southeastern Europe in recent days shifted west towards the Iberian peninsula.

Dozens of firefighters backed by four water-dropping aircraft were on the scene of a blaze in the northeastern province of Tarragona which has so far destroyed some 40 hectares (100 acres) of protected forest, local officials said.

Two smaller fires were burning in the northern wine-producing region of La Rioja and the northeastern province of Zaragoza, which involved two planes.

The wildfires come as temperatures were forecast to reach highs of around 40 degrees Celsius in much of Spain and neighbouring Portugal in the coming days.

The mercury could hit the mid-40s in some areas of southern Spain.

Scientists say global temperature rises powered by man-made climate change will make heatwaves more frequent and more intense, and their impact more widespread.

A heatwave fed by hot air from North Africa has engulfed large parts of the Mediterranean region in recent days, contributing to massive wildfires and killing dozens of people in Italy, Turkey, Greece and Algeria.

All but three of Spain’s 17 regions were on alert for heat while Portugal’s weather office warned that the centre and north of the country as well as parts of the southern Algarve province were on “maximum” alert for wildfires.

In 2017, fires killed dozens of people in Portugal.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa urged people to avoid “risky behaviours” which could cause wildfires.

“We know that the next few days are going to be difficult,” he told reporters today during a visit to a civil protection headquarters.

“We are facing a permanent challenge that is the result of climate change,” he added.

Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region has banned camping in forests and sporting activities in rural areas to reduce the risk of wildfires.

It also prohibited the use of some farm equipment during the hottest hours of the day.

For the first time since 1920, temperatures are forecast to soar above 40 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days at Madrid’s central Retiro park, tweeted Ruben del Campo, the spokesman for Spain’s national weather office AEMET.

The number of heatwaves registered in Spain between 2011 and 2020 is double the number recorded in each of the three previous decades, he told AFP.

© – AFP 2021