Temperatures in certain areas of Portugal are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), while France is battling a massive blaze in the southeast.
29 people have been hurt by forest fires in Portugal, where temperatures are expected to hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.
On Saturday, 125 fires were reported across the nation, the most on a single day this year. Approximately 1,500 firefighters battled three major blazes.
The government proclaimed a nationwide state of emergency from Monday, July 15 to Friday, July 15.
Due to high temperatures, the upcoming week’s weather has created more concern.
The Portuguese weather agency forecasts temperatures of up to 45C (113F) in Alentejo – the region between Lisbon and the Algarve – beginning on Tuesday, with the remainder of the nation experiencing high 30Cs and low 40Cs.
In addition, winds of nearly 40 mph are anticipated in numerous places, according to the agency.
Numerous regions of western and southern Europe have seen unseasonably high temperatures this summer, with wildfires breaking out in France and Spain, and climate change being cited as the cause.
Next week, the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, will not attend a United Nations gathering in New York.
A few small Portuguese settlements were evacuated on Saturday, but just a few homes were damaged.
Antonio Costa, the country’s prime minister, has requested on Twitter that citizens refrain from using fire or heavy machinery owing to the risk of more fires.
Climate change, according to the European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, will result in one of the continent’s worst years for natural disasters such as droughts and wildfires.
On Friday, one thousand firemen aided by water-dropping aircraft fought a major forest fire in the southeast of France that had forced the evacuation of adjacent villages.
Along the border between Spain and Portugal, temperatures are expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend.
According to government figures, June rainfall in Spain was around half of the 30-year normal, and the country’s reservoirs are on average at 45 percent capacity.
This summer, Italy has also seen a lengthy heatwave and its worst drought in seventy years, which has prompted fears about the country’s food yields.
