Western Europe quantified the extent of the damage after the passage of a scorching wave accompanied by devastating fires, particularly in south-west France, where President Emmanuel Macron headed on Wednesday, and in Brittany, while the Spanish Prime Minister said the number was “more than 500” heat-related deaths. In Portugal, 2,000 firefighters continued to battle the fires as of Tuesday afternoon. And in the UK, the temperature surpassed 40°C for the first time on Tuesday. According to scientists, this multiplication is a direct consequence of the climate crisis, as greenhouse gas emissions increase in intensity, duration and frequency. The point in pictures of the apocalypse in Europe.
Perfomance : Olivier JUZZCZAK
Smoke rises from a fire in Wennington, east London, Tuesday July 19, 2022. – YUI MOK / AP / SIPA
On Tuesday, mercury hit a level never seen in the UK, with 40.2C at Heathrow Airport in west London and 40.3C in Coningsby, a village in north-east England, according to the Met Office.
Police prepare residents to evacuate amid a fire in Wennington, Essex, UK on July 19, 2022. — GARRY BOWDEN/SIPA
At least a hundred firefighters were also battling a blaze that ravaged the east London village of Wennington.
A row of houses burns in the village of Wellington, east London, July 19, 2022. – PETER MACDIARMID / SIPA
The fire spread over an area of 40 hectares, including houses, farm buildings and garages. “I was sunning myself in my yard and a black cloud came up,” said Ciar Meadows, a 30-year-old homemaker.
A firefighter stands guard as he watches a fire in the village of Tabara, near Zamora, northwest Spain, July 18, 2022. — MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP
In Spain, where the extreme heat wave has been raging for almost ten days, forest fires continued to rage on Tuesday, especially in the province of Zamora (northwest).
Villagers walk past burned houses after a forest fire in A Veiga de Cascalla near O Barco de Valdeorras, northern Spain, July 19, 2022. — MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP
According to the regional authorities, almost 6,000 people had to be evacuated because of the flames, which destroyed several thousand hectares of vegetation.
A helicopter is pictured from Alhaurin de la Torre over a forest fire in the Sierra de Mijas in Malaga province July 15, 2022. – JORGE GUERRERO/AFP
“So far this year there have already been 11 major fires that we have had to fight, which is almost double the average number over the past 10 years,” recalled Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a visit to an area affected by the fires.
This photo shows smoke rising from the hill during firefighting operations at Espite in Ourem, July 13, 2022. – PEDRO ROCHA/AFP
In Portugal, 2,000 firefighters continued to battle the fires as of Tuesday afternoon.
A firefighter fights a forest fire near the village of Eiriz in Baiao, northern Portugal, July 15, 2022. – PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP
The two most worrying wildfires are in the far north of the country. One of them mobilized nearly 800 firefighters on Tuesday and led to the evacuation of three villages.
Firefighters stand in the ashes with headtorches as a forest fire rages in Anthousa, north of Athens, on July 19, 2022. – ARIS OIKONOMOU/AFP
The Greek civil defense called on Tuesday for the evacuation of eight villages and towns threatened by a major fire at the foot of Mount Penteli north of Athens.
A view of scorched hills as a forest fire rages for the second day on July 20, 2022 in Pallini, north of Athens. – ARIS OIKONOMOU/AFP
Around 500 firefighters, 120 vehicles, nine planes and 10 helicopters were deployed to try to extinguish the blaze that affected the Penteli, Pallini, Anthousa and Gerakas suburbs, which are home to about 90,000 people.
A forest fire near Graveson, south of Avignon, in south-eastern France, July 15, 2022. – CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP
In France, the fire, started by sparks from a freight train passing through the Montagnette massif south of Avignon on Thursday, was fixed overnight by firefighters, who continued to flood the edges on Tuesday to avoid another salvage operation.
An aerial view of the spread of forest fires in La Teste-de-Buch in southwestern France on July 13, 2022, then hectares of wood burned on July 18, 2022. – PLANET LABS / AFP
Since July 12, two fires have been burning in the Gironde, where 20,600 hectares of forest have been destroyed.
This photo taken on July 18, 2022 shows smoke rising from the forest fire in La Teste-de-Buch, seen from Pyla sur Mer, in front of the Pilat dune. – THIBAUD MORITZ / AFP
The fire in the town of Landiras devastated 13,600 hectares of forest and that of La Teste-de-Buch 7,000.
This photo taken on July 19, 2022 shows a general view of the Les Flots Bleus campsite in Pyla sur Mer in the Gironde region of southwestern France, which was devastated by a forest fire. – PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, no new evacuations were ordered and no casualties were reported. Since the fires began, almost 36,750 people have been evacuated and campsites have been devastated by the flames.
Flaming trees and billowing smoke are seen during a forest fire at the foot of the Dune du Pilat near La Teste-de-Buch in southwestern France on July 13, 2022. – THIBAUD MORITZ/AFP
With 300 hectares destroyed in the last few hours, “the results are quite positive, the situation has improved during the night but the two fires are still not resolved,” said Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Mendousse, a spokesperson for the Gironde firefighters , to the press.
A firefighter watches a raging forest fire in the Monts d’Arree near Brasparts in Brittany, northwestern France, July 19, 2022. – LOIC VENANCE / AFP
In Brittany, the fire that has ravaged hundreds of hectares of moorland in the Monts d’Arrées since Monday was still ongoing on Wednesday morning but its progress was slowing, Finistère prefecture said.
This photo taken on July 19, 2022 shows the Saint-Michel-de-Braspart chapel amidst smoke from a forest fire in Braspart, western France. -LOIC VENANCE / AFP
Because of the fire in the city of Brasparts (Finistère) in a natural area known for its biodiversity, a total of 500 people had to be evacuated. With the heat wave in western Europe, many temperature records were broken in Brittany on Monday. According to Météo France, temperatures above 40°C were measured in northern Finistère in particular.