England and France are on red alert for the heat wave that could exceed 40 degrees Celsius in some places. It is the first time that the UK meteorological service has issued a red alert, while in France 15 departments are listed as the highest alert and the fires in the dry Gironde pine forests do not stop. In Spain there are two deaths and the wave of fires that devastates half the country leaves thousands of hectares burned. Meanwhile, Italy registers maximums of 42 ° C.
Western Europe is experiencing a state of climate emergency with concern, which for scientists and politicians is a direct consequence of climate change. The thermometers rise this Monday, July 18, in the United Kingdom and France, where temperature records are expected.
Meanwhile, half of Spain is punished by the fires and although there will be a respite in temperatures on Tuesday, it is expected that they will return in the coming days. Balance of what happens in the countries most affected by the unusual heat wave:
England, for the first time on red alert
The United Kingdom Meteorological Office (Met) issued a red alert for the heat wave on Monday, July 18 in England and warned that temperatures could exceed 40 degrees Celsius, which will be a record.
So far, the highest temperatures have been recorded in Cambridge in 2019, when it reached 38.7 °C.
This is the first time the Met has issued a red alert in England.while the rest of the United Kingdom remains on an amber alert, one step less than the red, due to high temperatures.
The director of this office, Paul Davies, warned that Monday night can be “very oppressive” because it will be difficult to sleep due to the heat and admitted to being “really worried” that temperatures reach 41 ° C.
“We will be worried about tomorrow, because there is a good possibility that we will reach 40 or 41 degrees Celsius and with it all the health conditions that are produced by high temperatures,” Davies added to the ‘Sky News’ network.
The British authorities have asked the population to maintain a high level of hydration, to close the curtains at home and not to expose themselves to the sun in the middle of the day. Also avoid traveling unless it is absolutely essential. In addition, it has reinforced ambulance services as part of the measures against the heat wave.
More than a dozen train companies ask not to travel during the first days of the week, unless it is strictly necessary. In the case of the British capital, Transport for London (TfL), which operates the city’s transport network, also called for people not to travel unless it is essential.
France: 15 departments on red alert and the Gironde region on fire
France is experiencing this Monday a peak of the heat wave that for days has been affecting especially the south of the country, with temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius in some of the 15 departments that are on red alert and records in points of the Atlantic coast.
Those 15 departments placed on red alert by the country’s meteorological service, Météo-France, are all on the Atlantic coast and include those in the Brittany region, known for being habitually subject to an oceanic regime that guarantees high humidity and mild temperatures. , but that this Monday could experience unprecedented maximums of 40 ° C in the port of Brest and 41 ° C in the capital Rennes.
Meanwhile, the historic fires in the Gironde region continue unabated. In the municipalities of La Teste de Buch and Landiras, the flames have devastated 14,000 hectares of forest in less than a week and continue to advance.
The French government has decided to send reinforcements of 1,700 firefighters and more planes to try to control the two fires that are still active.
In the largest of the two conflagrations, which began in the municipality of Landiras, 9,800 hectares have been burned in a perimeter of 48 kilometers. In La Teste de Buch, 4,200 hectares of pine forest have also burned, with a perimeter of 28 kilometers.
Following a change in wind direction, authorities in southwestern France announced plans to evacuate more towns and displace 3,500 people at risk of being caught in the path of the flames.
Three other planes that could drop water were added to the six that were already working on the fire and the dense clouds of smoke, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
On the other hand, the city of Paris, which has been protected from this extreme heat until now, will also be affected with a forecast maximum of 39 ° C and temperatures of that order will be repeated in the west and in the interior of France.
In Spain there are two deceased and 30 sources of flames
The heat wave experienced in Spain after the entry of a mass of warm air from the Sahara leaves in its ninth day highs between 39 and 45 degrees at various points.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, blames climate change for what happened and on Monday asked the administrations and political parties to make environmental policies State policies.
Meanwhile, the fires in the province of Zamora left two fatalities, one of them a brigade member who was fighting the fire. The other, a rancher from the region.
The fire has devastated nearly 25,000 hectares in around 36 forest fires from end to end in the territory, which keep rural populations on edge while an important device with the support of the Army tries to put out the flames.
It is expected that there will be a respite from the intense heat wave this Tuesday, but it will return in the coming days.
Bea Hervella, spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), warns that, although there will be no active wave tomorrow, “the heat in capital letters will remain in some areas.”
Italy, in maximum of 42 degrees in the middle of the drought
This Monday, Italy faces peaks of up to 42 °C in the Padana Plain, Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio regionsin the north and center of the country, which is experiencing its worst drought in the last 70 years and which has once again caused a landslide in the Italian Alps.
High temperatures have been hitting the country since the end of May and will continue for the rest of July, according to predictions.
“With the start of the week, the African anticyclone ‘Apocalypse4800’ will become stronger and more powerful, which will cause record temperatures in many cities,” explained the meteorologist and founder of the ilMeteo portal, Antonio Sanò.
Despite its greater intensity, this heat wave is not something “exceptional”, but a reality that shows that we are entering a “new era: that of fire, sand and heat”, stressed the Italian geologist Mario Tozzi in an interview with the Italian newspaper ‘La Reppublica’.
Experts estimate that this year’s summer will exceed the temperatures of 2003, when Italy was plunged into one of the hottest summers in its history.
The Netherlands applies a national heat plan and enters a yellow alert
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) declared a yellow alert for tropical heat this Monday and Tuesday and announced that temperatures could exceed 38 degrees in the south of the country, something unusual that has led to the application of the National Plan for Heat.
According to the KNMI, tropical heat will be felt across most of the country, with 33 to 38 degrees Celsius in the central and southern Netherlands and about 30 degrees in the north.
The Dutch Government also alerted citizens to the ban on bathing in waterways and bridges due to the danger it entails and warned of a fine of 150 euros for those who violate this ban.
The heat wave has also forced the start of the Nijmegen Four-Day March, an annual walk in which some 45,000 people from around the world participate, to be delayed until next Wednesday.
With EFE and AP
Add Comment