Madrid, Spain. Firefighters backed by 30 aircraft struggled on Friday to contain a wildfire in northeastern Spain that burned an area the size of San Francisco and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 people.
The fire came as successive early-summer heatwaves left vegetation tinder-dry across much of Europe, contributing to water shortages, crop damage, wildfires and thousands more deaths than normal.
Heat and drought across Europe
Many scientists attribute the heatwaves to human-driven climate change. According to the Reuters Climate Monitor, the average high temperature across Western Europe on Friday was forecast at 27.5 degrees Celsius, 4.2 degrees above the normal high for July 17 during 1961-1990.
In France, drought conditions had worsened daily since the end of May, even as the latest heatwave receded. MeteoFrance said high temperatures were expected to be mostly confined to southeastern France by the weekend.
A gas-fired power plant in southern France faced the risk of going offline because high Mediterranean Sea temperatures limited access to cooling water, adding pressure to an energy system already affected by reduced nuclear output due to warmer river waters.
Storms and transport disruption
In Germany, low water levels on the Rhine River hindered shipping and increased transport costs. Rain had raised river levels, with more rainfall expected in the following days.
As heat gave way to violent storms in some areas, two people died in central and eastern France and one person died in the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg after falling trees or a lightning strike.
A supercell thunderstorm brought strong winds and hailstones up to 5 centimetres in diameter near Stuttgart, where drivers sought shelter beneath a motorway bridge. Residents of Baden-Wuerttemberg were warned to expect further severe weather on Friday.
Wildfire risks remain high
In northeastern Germany, firefighters hoped rainfall would help contain a wildfire at Mueritz National Park that had been burning for nearly a week. Their efforts were complicated by unexploded ammunition at a former military training facility.
Spain’s weather agency AEMET warned that temperatures would begin rising again on Saturday, potentially reaching 42 to 44 degrees Celsius in parts of Andalusia and La Mancha the following week. Forecasters also warned of an extreme wildfire risk as hot, dry air from North Africa moved across much of the country.
