Portugal battles wildfires amid record heat
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Temperatures in several areas of Portugal exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) with authorities warning that wildfire dangers are highly expected.
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A firefighter passes while a wildfire burns the forest at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal on July 21, 2019. (AFP)
Over a thousand firemen battled a wildfire in central Portugal that incinerated more than 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of land in the Castelo Branco region and injured 11 people.
Temperatures in several areas of Portugal exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), and authorities warned that wildfire dangers are expected to be at a maximum high in the following days.
The leader of the firefighting effort, Jose Gulherme, warned that the real risk of the flames may reach up to more than 20,000 hectares, explaining to journalists that the area holds many "isolated homes and villages."
The Friday fire had smoke and ash making their way over 130 kilometers east to Fatima, where Pope Francis was leading a liturgy at a venerated Catholic shrine attended by more than 200,000 people.
A second blaze at Odemira, along the southwest coast, was fought by 400 firefighters.
On Sunday, civil security officer Tiago Bugio said the fires in Odemira were being put out. Two fronts remained active, but a third, which had been advancing toward the southern tourist hotspot of the Algarve, had been halted.
Read more: World must brace for 30% more wildfires by 2050: UN
In neighboring Spain, a large-scale fire threatened buildings near the famous tourist destinations of Puerto Real and Cadiz.
Despite high winds, a fire that erupted in Catalonia on Friday and charred about 600 hectares of land on Spain's northeastern coast was generally under control on Sunday.
Wildfires have also ravaged many countries spanning almost all continents, most notably in Canada, the US, Spain, Greece, and Algeria.
Greece closed the Acropolis during the hottest hours, and France's farming industry was threatened by high temperatures and drought. Spain anticipated another heatwave, and the Canary Islands and Andalusia region were warned of temperatures above 40°C.
In Japan and South Korea, torrential rains caused casualties through floods and landslides. India experienced deadly monsoon rains following scorching heat, with increased frequency and severity attributed to climate change.
Temperature records were set in different regions across the world, leaving behind a trail of wildfires and floods from the North all the way down to the South.
The warmest summer on record in Europe resulted in 61,672 heat-related deaths, according to research that was released last week. Italy has the highest mortality rate.
A senior extreme heat advisor at the World Meteorological Organization, John Nairn, told reporters in Geneva that "These events will continue to grow in intensity, and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves."
Scientists assert that global warming, linked to fossil fuel dependence, contributes to the multiplication and intensification of heat waves. The EU's climate monitoring service declared June the hottest month on record globally.
