Portugal Wildfires: Municipalities Place Under Maximum Risk as Soaring Temperature Continues

As several European countries battled wildfires, at least 120 municipalities in Portugal were placed on high alert.

The wildfire began on Saturday in Odemira, Alentejo, but has already extended south to the Algarve, one of Portugal's most popular tourist destinations.

Reuters reported that the wildfire quickly spread across more than 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of extremely combustible pine and eucalyptus trees, fueled by high temperatures and strong winds.

Critical, difficult and complex situation

Odemira's mayor, Hélder Guerreiro, described the situation as "critical, difficult, and complex."

As a precaution, officials claimed they had evacuated 20 communities, four tourist hotels, and a camping site.

The fire, which injured at least nine firefighters, also prompted the closure of multiple roadways for a time.

The commander of the emergency and civil protection authority, José Ribeiro, stated that firemen had a "lot of work" ahead of them.

"It is a worrying situation," Ribeiro said, as quoted by The Guardian.

Around 850 firefighters have been battling the massive fire in the Alentejo region, with water-carrying planes dousing the flames from above. Bulldozers were also utilized to create fire breaks and slow the spread of the blaze.

Several wildfires are presently raging around Portugal, but Odemira is the most concerning.

On Tuesday, three districts in northern Portugal, including Braganca, Castelo Branco, and Guarda, were declared red alert.

Temperatures in the northern city of Castelo Branco were anticipated to reach 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

"The weather conditions we are going to experience in the coming days means any small occurrence (fire) could become a big one," Civil Protection secretary of state Patricia Gaspar said.

Read Also: Wildfires in Northwest Territory Are so Massive, Their Smoke Reached Portugal

Intense wildfires

The Met Office in the United Kingdom has also issued a weather warning for Spain, Portugal, and Africa as wildfires spread across some of Portugal's most popular tourist destinations.

"Temperatures have increased across Spain, Portugal and North Africa in recent days, widely into the mid-30sC, if not into the low- to mid-40sC", the Met Office tweeted, as reported by The Independent.

Spain is suffering its third heat wave of the summer and is battling a number of wildfires.

Extremadura is one of the regions currently devastated by the fires. A fire has burned roughly 300 hectares in Valencia de Alcantara, close to the Portuguese border.

On Monday morning, the fire department in Catalonia, on the Mediterranean coast near the French border, announced that it had "brought under control" a fire that broke out on Friday and burned over 600 hectares.

Scientists have rapidly demonstrated that these record-breaking temperatures are not a natural occurrence.

Vikki Thompson, a climate scientist at the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute, explained that heatwaves are becoming hotter and persisting longer as a result of climate change.

"Scientists have shown that many specific heatwaves are more intense because of human-induced climate change. The climate change signal is even detectable in the number of deaths attributed to heatwaves," she added, as reported by The Guardian.

Related Article: At Least 1000 People Died Due to Heat Wave in Spain

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