France on alert as wildfires rage across southwest Europe

PARIS－France was on high alert on Monday as the peak of a punishing heat wave gripped the country, while wildfires raging in parts of southwest Europe showed no sign of abating.

Forecasters have put 15 French departments on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures, as neighboring Britain was poised to set new heat records this coming week.

The heat wave is the second to engulf parts of southwest Europe in weeks, and burning blazes in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee.

Scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather such as heat waves and drought.

In France's Landes forest in the southwest Aquitaine region, temperatures "will be above 42 C" on Monday, forecaster Olivier Proust said.

Wildfires in France forced more than 16,000 people－residents and tourists combined－to decamp. Seven emergency shelters have been set up for evacuees.

French cyclist Mikael Cherel, who took part in Tour de France's 15th stage between Rodez and Carcassonne in southern France on Sunday, described "very, very difficult conditions".

In Spain, firefighters managed to stabilize a wildfire that ravaged 2,000 hectares of woods and bushes in the southern region of Andalusia, regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said.

Around 2,000 people had since returned home and now that the blaze has stabilized, Moreno said the remaining evacuees may do the same.

Lands destroyed

Meanwhile, Spanish authorities reported around 20 wildfires still raging out of control in different parts of the country from the south to Galicia in the far northwest, where blazes have destroyed around 4,500 hectares of land.

The fires have already killed several civilians and emergency personnel since last week, most recently a firefighter who died late on Sunday while battling a blaze in northwestern Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to visit the hard-hit eastern Extremadura region on Monday, where various fires have been raging for days.

In Portugal, almost the entire country remained on high alert for wildfires despite a drop in temperatures, after hitting 47 C－a record for the month of July－on Thursday.

In the United Kingdom, the weather office issued its first-ever "red" warning for extreme heat, cautioning there was a "risk to life".

Agencies Via Xinhua