High alert issued as heatwaves hits France, UK

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Jul 2022 15:32

This is the second heatwave experienced across the EU in the last month.

High alert issued as heatwaves hits France, UK

Monday could be recorded as the hottest day ever in France and the UK as warnings were issued in both countries.

Temperatures are expected to exceed 40°C (104°F) as a direct consequence of global warming. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions increasing in intensity, duration, and frequency are a major factor in triggering such phenomena.

In the UK, the weather office issued a first-ever "red" warning for extreme heat, cautioning that there was a "risk to life".

The British government was accused on Sunday of neglecting the situation after resigned Prime Minister Boris Johnson missed a crisis meeting on the subject in Downing Street, and his justice minister, Dominic Raab, seemed to be happy to see for the first time the mercury rise above 40°C in England.

Spain has also been severely hit by the heatwave, which caused some deaths among its residents, as well as wildfires multiplying at an unprecedented rate.

Portugal, France, and Greece were not spared from the unfortunate impacts of climate change on their forests either. Last week's fires in Portugal killed two people and injured 60, and damaged around 13,000 hectares, according to the latest reports.

One city in southwest France, Gironde, evacuated more than 16,000 residents due to the ravaging wildfires that devoured over 13,000 hectares of vegetation in the Bordeaux region in six days.