As the heatwave smothered Europe, the city of Barcelona sprang into action, handing out water and caps to its homeless population. Meanwhile, France recorded its highest overnight temperature since records began, with the Mediterranean town of Menton reaching a sweltering 30.4C. Greece, too, was grappling with major wildfires, as firefighters battled strong winds and hot, dry conditions to bring dozens of blazes under control.
In Catalonia, the temperature had skyrocketed to 38.8C, breaking the previous record of 37.4C set in 2010. The humidity was also high, exacerbating the suffocating heat. To make matters worse, Spain was hit with four successive heatwaves since June, with temperatures expected to soar past 40C across the country on Thursday.
The usually temperate northern regions of Spain, including the Basque Country and Cantabria, were not spared, with temperatures reaching 40C and above. Several people were admitted to hospital with heat-related conditions in Bilbao, where the thermometer registered a scorching 43C.
The heat and drought combination had put all of Spain on high alert for wildfires, with the largest blaze this year consuming 15,000 hectares of woodland on the Canary Island of Tenerife. The regional president, Fernando Clavijo, announced that the fire had not spread for the first time in over a week, but smaller fires had broken out in Castilla y León in north-west Spain, and many public parks and nature reserves were closed.
Greece, meanwhile, was battling over 200 wildfires in 48 hours, with strong winds and hot, dry conditions hampering efforts to bring the blazes under control. The fires had claimed 20 lives, including 18 migrants whose bodies were found by firefighters in a burnt forest area near the city of Alexandroupolis.
Southeast Europe Swelters in Looming Heatwave DisastersThe EU’s Copernicus satellite observation service reported that the Alexandroupolis fire had burned through more than 72,300 hectares of land, making it one of the largest on European soil in recent years. Another large blaze was raging on Mount Parnitha, just outside Athens, and a third was burning in Boeotia, where a 1,000-year-old Unesco-listed Byzantine monastery narrowly escaped the flames.
As the heatwave continued to grip Europe, fears were growing about the impact on the region’s crops, with Spain’s grape and olive harvests expected to be severely affected. The high temperatures and lack of rain have already resulted in a 50% drop in olive oil sales, with prices nearly doubling since last year.
With the heat showing no signs of abating, European authorities were bracing themselves for a prolonged and potentially devastating heatwave.