A farmer carries his sheep to safety during a village in Boa Vista, Portugal (Image: EPA)
We don’t have to look too far to see what’s in store for us in the UK.
Temperatures in western Europe have soared above 40C, sparking wildfires and forcing farmers like the one pictured in Boa Vista, Portugal, to take drastic action to save their livestock.
The hot air that has swept over Portugal and Spain will spread north and east in the coming days.
This is behind the extreme weather warnings the UK is currently facing.
In Spain, about 300 firefighters, supported by 17 planes and helicopters, were battling a forest fire in the eastern region of Extremadura that has ravaged 2,500 hectares of land, local authorities said.
Speaking in parliament, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged “more resources” to fight forest fires fueled by the “extraordinary climate the planet is going through”.
Temperatures are forecast to continue to rise in Spain until Thursday, with highs of up to 44C expected in the Guadalquivir valley in Seville in the south.
Spain’s health ministry warned that the “extreme heat” could affect people’s “vital functions” and provoke problems such as heat stroke.
He advised people to drink water frequently, wear light clothing and “stay as long as possible” in the shade or in air-conditioned places.
The sheep was doused with water to cool down after it appeared to have been burnt (Image: EPA) A fire has closed a nearby motorway in both directions (Image: EPA)
“It’s hell,” said Dania Arteaga, a 43-year-old cleaner at a shop in central Madrid, her forehead covered in sweat.
World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Claire Nullis said: “We really expect it to get worse. This heat is accompanied by drought. We have very, very dry soils right now.
“At the moment, the glaciers in the Alps are really punished. It was a very bad season for the glaciers. And we’re still relatively early in the summer.
Last week, an avalanche triggered by the collapse of the largest glacier in the Italian Alps in unusually high temperatures killed 11 people.
Heat waves have become more frequent due to climate change, scientists say. As global temperatures rise over time, heat waves are expected to become more intense.
In neighboring Portugal, firefighters have been battling a blaze that has ravaged about 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of land in the central municipality of Urem since Thursday.
The fire was brought under control on Monday but flared up again on Tuesday morning.
Portugal is suffering extreme heat – and it’s only going to get worse (Image: EPA) Extreme temperatures are likely to arrive in the UK from Sunday (Image: EPA)
With temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday in much of the country, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa called for “maximum caution”.
The government has declared a “state of alert” for bushfires across the country until at least Friday, raising the alert levels of firefighters, police and emergency medical services.
The current situation evokes memories of the devastating forest fires in 2017 that claimed more than 100 lives in Portugal.
Local authorities in the city of Sintra near Lisbon closed a number of tourist attractions such as palaces and monuments in a green mountain range popular with visitors as a precaution.
The World Meteorological Organization map shows the intense heat in Portugal and Spain
In France, temperatures – which reached 30 degrees Celsius across much of the country on Monday – could soar to 39 degrees Celsius in some areas on Tuesday, national weather service Meteo France predicted.
Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne has urged all government ministers to be ready to deal with the effects of the heatwave, which is forecast to last up to 10 days.
“The heat affects people’s health very quickly, especially the most vulnerable,” her office said in a statement.
Britain has issued an extreme heat warning, with temperatures expected to reach 35C in the south-east in the coming days.
The extreme heat warning was classified as ‘amber’, the second highest level of alert, indicating a ‘strong impact’ on everyday life and people.
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