New heatwave continues unabated in southern Europe

Temperatures have again soared across Europe. In France, on Sunday, 42 departments were put on orange heat alerts, according to French weather forecaster Météo France, with the worst yet to come as temperatures are expected to peak on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the French weathercaster, from Monday onwards 46 departments will be placed under orange alert, with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees or more in France’s most southern areas such as the Hérault, a neighbouring department of the Aude, which just recently suffered one of France’s worst wildfires in the past 50 years.

The Var and the southern parts of the Ardèche and Drôme departments are also expecting temperatures of up to 40 degrees.

Red alert in Tenerife due to impending Calima

Further south, both Spain’s mainland and its islands are suffering from the heat this Sunday, with 15 autonomous communities on alert, including the Canary Islands where temperatures reached 40 degrees across much of the archipelago.

Adding to the heat, the island is expected to be hit by the Calima, a hot, dry wind that blows from the Sahara Desert, which reduces visibility and can cause discomfort when breathing.

As a result, the Canary Islands Government’s Emergency Management Agency has issued a pre-alert for the island of Tenerife, alongside the red alert already declared for Sunday.

On Spain’s mainland north-west region of León, six fires are currently keeping the entire province on alert, two of which are particularly serious due to their proximity to inhabited areas.

In Yeres, around thirty residents have been evacuated because the fire is close to the populated area. This situation has led the Regional Government of Castile and León to declare a level 2 alert for the fire in Yeres, which directly affects the World Heritage Site of Las Médulas.

Portugal remains on high alert despite bringing wildfires under control

Portugal's Civil Protection has raised the state of readiness to maximum level this Sunday due to the heat and increased risk of fire. The heightened alert is expected to remain in place until midnight on Wednesday. 

The districts of Bragança and Vila Real, in the north of the country, will be under a red warning. Viseu, Guarda and Castelo Branco, Portalegre, Évora and Beja will be under orange warning and the remaining districts will be under yellow alert.

Sunday morning broke with slight relief after a night of hell due to the fires in Moimenta da Beira and Trancoso, in the district of Viseu. More than 750 firefighters are on the scene. These two fires have been under control since 10am, but there have been flare-ups. 

In Vila Real, two fires with several active fronts have been reported and 700 operatives have been mobilised to the scene. 

In the central region, a fire broke out in Penacova and has mobilised eight aerial resources and almost 250 operatives, Civil Protection told Portuguese news agency Lusa. 

Due to the complexity of the meteorological conditions, the Civil Protection also announced the reinforcement of resources.