More people have died of heat-related causes in Spain between May 1 and July 15 of this year, than during the entirety of 2021
The 10-day heatwave that hit Spain left more than 500 people dead, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a public statement.
Sanchez cited the figures of heat-related deaths, released by Madrid's Carlos III Health Institute July 18, 2022.
More people have died of heat-related causes in Spain from May 1 through July 15 of this year, than during the entirety of 2021, read the report.
Also read: National Emergency declared in UK; wildfires in France, Spain, Portugal
“This has nothing to do with ideologies, but with a reality, with a climatic emergency that the planet is living through,” said Sanchez.
Britain saw its hottest day July 20, with the UK Met Office registering a provisional reading of 40.2 degrees Celsius (°C).
“Unless emissions were reduced, the country might experience similar heat waves every three years,” Stephen Belcher, the chief of science and technology of Britain's Met Office, told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated July 21, 2022 as a wildfire threatened mountainside suburbs in Greece, according to media reports.
Heavy clouds of smoke were seen rising into the sky billowing over Mount Penteli, near central Athens, according to Reuters.
Pallini, a resident who lost his car and shed to the flames told ERT television:
The fire was scorching our backs, we left in the nick of time. Had we stayed another 30 seconds it would have burned us.
38,500 people have been evacuated away from forest fires raging in France’s southwestern Gironde region as of July 20, 2022, according to France 24.
No deaths have been reported as holidaymakers at campsites near the Dune du Pilat dunes were evacuated.
“We only had time to throw a few things in the car and leave as soon as possible —so we left behind the caravan, the tents, the bikes, our personal belongings. But in the end we lost everything,” Christian Kreide, a tourist from the German town of Rheinbach, told France 24.
‘Purple heat warning’ was in place for most of Germany July 21, 2022, as temperatures were expected to soar towards 40°C in some regions, according to media reports.
The extreme heat is to move eastwards on Wednesday and it will ease off slightly on Thursday with thunderstorms expected, said The Local.
“The climate crisis doesn’t stop at any borders, and so our responses to it mustn’t stop at any borders,” said Annalena Baerbock, German foreign minister.
A fire that broke out on Monday evening near the Tuscany region of Italy has destroyed some 600 hectares of woods, according to CBC.
On Wednesday, a fire that broke out on Monday evening near the Tuscany region continued to burn, having already destroyed some 600 hectares of woods.
“It forced around 500 people to relocate as the flames raged through the night, reaching some villages and causing some liquefied gas tanks to explode,” the region’s governor Eugenio Giani tweeted.
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