As a fierce heatwave moves further north on Tuesday, Western Europe will see even more oppressive temperatures.
Based on preliminary Met Office data, the UK reached its highest temperature ever of 39.1C, with forecasters forecasting more than 40C later.
France posted intense heat warnings, and on Monday, temperatures in northern Spain reached 43C (109F).
Thousands of people have had to leave their homes due to catastrophic wildfires in France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece.
In Spain’s northwest Zamora region, two persons perished in forest fires, and railways in the area were stopped due to burning near the tracks. In northern Portugal, an older couple perished while attempting to flee fires.
The national weather agency reported that several regions of France experienced their hottest days ever, with the western city of Nantes recording 42C.
And over 30,000 people have recently been forced to flee due to wildfires, and emergency shelters have been put up for them. One of the places evacuated was a zoo with 1,000 animals.
Firefighters from all around France are working to put out two fires that have burned over 19,300 hectares (47,700 acres) of land in Gironde, a well-known vacation area in the southwest. Early on Tuesday, the wind shifted, and smoke engulfed the city of Bordeaux.
Jean-Luc Gleyze, regional president of Gironde, stated, “The thought that comes to my mind is, it’s a monster.”
“It’s a monster resembling an octopus that keeps expanding in the front, the back, and on both sides. It’s a monster and very challenging to battle against due to the warmth, the wind, the lack of water in the air, etc.”
Reports from Gironde, temperatures that were hovering above 40C on Monday are projected to dip on Tuesday. However, that may not provide instant relief as long as dry weather and unpredictable winds continue.
Now, the warmest parts of the country are in the north and east. In the far north-west of Brittany, hundreds of people were forced to abandon their houses, and 1,400 acres of vegetation were devastated by fire.
The Netherlands saw its 33.6°C warmest day of the year on Monday, and some places were forecast to see temperatures as high as 39°C on Tuesday.
The heatwave, according to forecasters, is moving north, with temperatures reaching 40C predicted in western and southwestern Germany as well as the extreme south of Belgium. In July 2019, the city of Duisburg set a national record temperature of 41.2 degrees Celsius. According to DWD spokesman Andreas Friedrich, Tuesday could see highs in the same range along the Rhine.
Over a thousand deaths in Spain and Portugal have recently been related to heat. One fireman perished on Sunday in a forest fire near Losacio, northwest, while a 69-year-old shepherd’s body was discovered on Monday.
Portugal saw a record-breaking 47°C high heat on Thursday. The national meteorology authority IPMA has declared a high fire hazard for the majority of the nation.
A fire in the Murça region of northern Portugal forced the evacuation of many communities, and a man and a lady in their 70s perished in their car while attempting to escape the flames. A local mayor reported that more than 3,000 hectares had scorched, and firefighters were battling the fire on three different fronts. Officials are concerned about not having another year like 2017 when 66 individuals lost their lives to flames.
At least 20 flames are currently out of control in Spain. As fires burned on both sides of the compartment at the northern border with Portugal, a passenger caught the incident on camera as the train he was riding temporarily came to a stop.
