The hot weather wave sparks fires in Europe

In France, hundreds of firefighters, supported by six water bombers, fought two fires in the southwest, which caused the evacuation of thousands of campers, Reuters writes, broadcast Clankosova.tv.

Some villagers in Santiago de Guarda, in the central Portuguese district of Leiria, rescued domestic animals, while others helped firefighters fight the flames.

In Leiria, where more than 3,000 hectares have been burned so far, authorities blocked major highways and side roads as strong winds made it harder for firefighters to fight flames.

Portugal's most important highway, connecting its capital Lisbon with Porton, was also blocked due to another fire farther north.

Nearly 900 firefighters were fighting the three active fires in Leiria alone, while there were 2,841 firefighters on the ground and 860 vehicles in all of Portugal's territory.

About half of the drought-hit Portugal will remain on red alert for extreme heat conditions Thursday, with the highest temperatures expected in Santarem and Castelo Branco, the IPMA weather institute said.

Wednesday's highest temperature was registered in the central city of Lousa at 46.3 degrees, a degree below a record 2003.

At least 135 people have suffered major minor injuries since the beginning of the fires in Portugal last week, and about 800 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to the Civil Protection Authority.

The World Meteorological Organisation warned on Tuesday that the heat wave is spreading and intensifying into large parts of Europe.

With climate changes caused by people causing drought, the number of extreme fires is expected to increase by 30 percent within the next 28 years, according to a UN report in February 2022.