Firefighters hasten efforts to contain massive wildfires in France and Spain ahead of heatwave – Europe live

Race against time to contain wildfires in France and Spain – The Latest

Ajit Niranjan

Firefighters in France and Spain are facing another day battling wildfires that have resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being evacuated, with another heatwave expected to hit this week.

French authorities have said this year’s wildfires, particularly the Gironde fire near the south-western city of Bordeaux, are ‘completely exceptional’, with more than ۱۱۶,۰۰۰ hectares of forest and vegetation burned since the beginning of the year, compared with ۷۰,۰۰۰ in total last year.

For our “The Latest” podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to Europe environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan about what it means for the continent.

France was also in “a race against time” to control wildfires before another heatwave this week, said Eric Brocardi, a fire service spokesperson.

Weather forecasters have said temperatures could reach ۴۰C (۱۰۴F) is some parts of the country from Tuesday.

This would complicate efforts to control the wildfire in Gironde in south-west France, which the interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, described as “extremely intense and unpredictable … generating its own winds and advancing erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area”.

As firefighters continue to battle the blazes, there is also some concern about the air quality in the affected region.

France’s health agencies warned that the air quality in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region covering Gironde is “degraded” with fine particulate matter way above the limits.

Residents were told to keep doors and windows closed, cover vents with damp clothes, and turn off ventilation systems.

۳.۵ million filtering FFP۲ masks will be delivered to the region by Wednesday.

Morning opening: ‘Coming weeks will be tough,’ Macron warns, as France enters new heatwave amid fires

Jakub Krupa

The return of searing temperatures, from today in France and tomorrow in Spain, will complicate efforts to fight massive wildfires raging in the Bordeaux region and a number of sites in Spain.

On a visit to a crisis centre in Bordeaux, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, warned:

“The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out.”

Over the past week, the gigantic blaze in the region has ravaged ۴۲,۰۰۰ hectares (۱۰۳,۰۰۰ acres), forced ۲۲۰,۰۰۰ people to flee and destroyed ۲۴۰ houses. Such is its size and intensity, it has created a rare pyrocumulonimbus cloud, packing lightning.

But as of Tuesday morning, it remained stable for the second night in a row, which offers hope that firefighters will be able to make further progress before the new heatwave complicates their efforts.

Macron confirmed that a forest fire in nearby Landes – which had forced the evacuation of more than ۳۰,۰۰۰ people – was now under control. But he warned it “remains virulent and we must be extremely cautious over the next few hours and the coming days”.

Spain has one crucial day to tackle the wildfires before weather conditions worsen again.

Ahead of the new heatwave, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez told his fellow citizens: “We face difficult hours, complex hours.”

About ۶۰,۰۰۰ people have been forced to flee in Spain and ۲۲۰,۰۰۰ in France, often with just minutes’ notice. Hundreds were also evacuated from Italy.

The fires in Spain have affected an area of ۷۷,۰۰۰ hectares (۱۹۰,۰۰۰ acres) – nearly the size of New York City – according to authorities.

Spain’s state meteorological agency, Aemet, officially declared that a heatwave, the fourth of the summer, would begin on Wednesday, lasting until “at least” Sunday.

I will bring you all the latest here.

It’s Tuesday, ۲۸ July ۲۰۲۶, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.