Spain and Portugal battle wave of wildfires as temperatures expected to rise

Thousands of firefighters in Spain and Portugal are battling an ongoing wave of wildfires, some of which have been burning for days as temperatures are expected to rise in the Iberian Peninsula.

In central Spain, firefighters and a special military unit worked overnight to control blazes in the province of Avila, focusing on confining a fire burning near the village of El Arenal, about 100km (62 miles) west of Madrid, emergency services said.

In the western province of Caceres, local authorities said firefighters had largely stabilised a fire that affected some 2,500 hectares (roughly 6,178 acres).

Most evacuation orders had been lifted, authorities said.

In Portugal, more than 2,000 firefighters were battling blazes across the country, particularly in the north.

Much of Spain and Portugal is under a high risk of wildfires and temperatures are expected to rise over the weekend.

Spain’s meteorology service AEMET predicted that temperatures in central and southern Spain could exceed 40C by Sunday.

In Portugal, temperatures are expected to rise on Saturday into the upper 30Cs across most of the country.

Despite record-high temperatures exceeding 40C in the region in June, wildfires in Spain this year have so far burned less surface area than in previous years.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in south-eastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.

The burning of fuels such as gasoline, oil and coal, plus deforestation, wildfires and many kinds of factories release heat-trapping gasses that cause climate change.

Human activities often trigger wildfires.

On Thursday, Albanian authorities said 21 people were taken into custody for suspected arson over the past few weeks, when the country was battling 59 major wildfires that damaged 29,000 hectares (71,660 acres) of land.

Albania’s interior minister Arsen Hoxha said most of the wildfires, which were extinguished by rain, had been started by humans.