More than 1,100 people killed by heatwave in Spain, Portugal
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As the climate crisis worsens, governments seem to be taking little to no action to assist citizens with the proper measures to deal with the scorching heat.
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Temperatures have reached as high as 47°C (116) in some areas in Portugal and in the south of France (AP).
More than 1,100 died in both Spain and Portugal combined due to the heatwave that is ravaging Europe.
As the climate crisis worsens, governments seem to be taking little to no action to assist citizens with the proper measures to deal with the scorching heat.
According to experts, the heatwave is caused by the emissions of greenhouse gases which created a build-up in the earth's atmosphere and caused the climate to heat further above its usual levels.
Read more: The US inflicts $1.9 worth of damage to other countries through its emissions
Others have argued that the source of this phenomenon is caused by a heat dome originating from northwest Africa, with an area of low pressure just west of Iberia acting as a heat funnel.
Spain's Health Ministry announced on Monday that 510 people died of heat-related causes in the first week of a heatwave as temperatures reached 45 degrees Celcius in parts of the country.
Portugal's Health Ministry announced late Saturday that there had been 659 heat-related deaths over the past week, primarily among the elderly.
Dozens of high alerts have been issued so far in the region, with temperatures reaching as high as 47°C (116) in some areas in Portugal and in the south of France.
In France and the UK, "red" alerts have been issued as a consequence of rising temperatures. For the UK, this was the first time ever that the nation issues a heat-related warning, cautioning that there was a "risk to life".
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.
