Temperatures have topped 40 degrees Celsius in Spanish cities over the past week, with emergency services responding to several forest fires in northern Spain on June 19. The most alarming fire, in the Sierra de Culebra mountain range, has destroyed more than 25,000 hectares of forest, according to regional authorities.
Firefighters said cooler temperatures overnight had helped fight the blaze. Residents of about 20 evacuated villages were allowed to return home.
Wildfires also broke out in Germany, where temperatures reached 38 degrees Celsius in the eastern states of Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony. In Cottbus, Brandenburg, the temperature reached 38.7 degrees Celsius, the highest in Germany for June.
A fire in Brandenburg, a suburb of Berlin, has forced the evacuation of 700 people, as the blaze threatens three-quarters of the town of Treuenbrietzen, local authorities say.
In the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, temperatures hit a record 36.5 degrees Celsius (96.5 Fahrenheit) in the town of Feldkirch, on the border with Switzerland. The country's meteorological institute, ZAMG, said June had seen twice as many days above 30 degrees Celsius as usual. Much of Switzerland was also hit by the heat. The country's meteorological agency said June 19 saw more temperature records broken. While Geneva sweltered in 35 degrees Celsius (95.5 Fahrenheit), several other towns also recorded high temperatures, including Neuchatel and Fahy, which broke the record 34 degrees Celsius (94.5 Fahrenheit).
A billboard shows the outdoor temperature in Spain is 45 degrees Celsius - Photo: WSP.
Biarritz, a popular southwestern seaside resort, recorded its all-time high temperature on the afternoon of June 18, with temperatures reaching 42.9 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit), according to France's national meteorological agency Meteo France. Many places in the region also exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
With authorities banning bathing in the Seine, sweltering Parisians have turned to the city's fountains to cool off. "This is the earliest heatwave recorded in France since 1947," said Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at Meteo France.
Several towns in northern Italy have imposed water restrictions on households, while the Coldiretti farming association said dairy cows in the country were producing 10% less milk due to the heat.
The rising temperatures coincide with scientists' predictions that such events will occur earlier in the year due to worrying global warming.
"Because of climate change, heatwaves are starting earlier. Unfortunately, what we are seeing today is just a prelude to the future," said Clare Nullis, a spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva.
