Temperatures surged in Spain and Portugal on Wednesday, as the two countries endured their third summer heatwave.
As massive forest fires blazed throughout southern Portugal for the sixth day in a row, Spain’s weather agency warned that the country’s average temperature could set a seven-decade high.
“This will probably be the hottest five August days in 73 years,” said AEMET, the state meteorological agency, with almost the whole country under red weather alerts.
The highest temperatures occurred in Andalusia, according to data from AEMET shortly before 7 pm (1700 GMT), in Roda de Andalucia where the mercury hit 44.6 degrees Celsius (112.3 Fahrenheit), and at the Granada airport where the temperature reached 44.1 Celsius.
“The average temperature” in Spain this Wednesday “will probably be a record since 1950”, Aemet added.
Winds and high heat are partly to blame for the fires that have destroyed 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of trees in neighboring Portugal in recent days.
The most severe flames are in the southern Odemira district, where over 1,500 people have been evacuated, with the fires spreading to the Algarve, a famous tourist destination.
However, firefighters battling the flames claimed they were bringing them under control Wednesday, with a drop in temperature and more humidity along the coast aiding in the containment of the blazes as hot air travels east.
According to experts, the repeated heatwaves, which are becoming longer and more intense, are a result of climate change.
The Iberian Peninsula is facing the brunt of Europe’s climate change, with droughts and wildfires becoming increasingly common.
Up to a dozen water bombers were employed by Spanish firemen to prevent the development of the flames in Valencia de Alcantara in Extremadura, close to the border with Portugal.
“We evacuated our clients to a hotel in Alcantara,” said Joaquin Dieguez, the owner of a holiday cottage. “But we are really worried because we have an enormous forest here with century-old oak trees. It’s awful.”
The most hazardous fire in Valencia de Alcantara, in the southwest, was “stabilised” on Friday, according to the regional authorities.
According to preliminary estimates, 350 hectares of trees have been destroyed. The fire follows wildfires that devastated 573 hectares in Portbou, Catalonia, in the northeast, and 450 acres of trees in Bonares, Andalusia, in the south.
