Hot weekend for Europe, wildfire warning issued for Mediterranean region

Officials warned of wildfires across the western Mediterranean region as high temperatures and a long dry spell made for combustible conditions.

European heatwave
People swim in the river Limmat at Letten, in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, June 18, 2022. People flocked to parks and pools across Western Europe on Saturday for a bit of respite from an early heat wave that saw the mercury rise above 40 Cs (104 F)
AP Berlin
1 min read Last Updated : Jun 18 2022 | 10:08 PM IST

People flocked to parks and pools across Western Europe on Saturday for a bit of respite from an early heat wave that saw the mercury rise above 40 C (104 F) in France and Spain, and highs of 38 C (100.4 F) in Germany.

Officials warned of wildfires across the western Mediterranean region as high temperatures and a long dry spell made for combustible conditions.

The European Commission's Copernicus Emergency Management Service said the fire risk was extreme and very extreme in much of Spain, the Rhone river valley in France, Sardinia, Sicily and parts of mainland Italy.

The 27-nation bloc has put 12 firefighting planes and a helicopter on standby to assist countries struggling with major blazes this summer.

Meteorologists in France described the situation as really exceptional and predicted that a peak of 43 C (109.4 F) could be reached Saturday before thunderstorms bring cooler weather in from the Atlantic.

Experts say the early heat wave is a sign of what's to come as climate change makes extreme temperatures normally seen only in July and August more likely in June too.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Topics :EuropeHeat waveforest firesMediterraneanGermany

First Published: Jun 18 2022 | 10:08 PM IST

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