Hundreds more people were evacuated from their homes as wildfires blistered land in France, Spain and Portugal on Friday, and officials in Europe issued health warnings for the heatwave in coming days.
More than 1,000 firefighters, supported by water-bomber aircraft, have battled since Tuesday to control two blazes in southwestern France that have been fanned by scorching heat, tinder-box conditions and strong winds.
The World Meteorological Organization said on Friday the heatwave would trap atmospheric pollutants, degrading the air quality, especially in towns and cities. From July 7 to July 13, Portugal registered 238 excess deaths due to the heatwave, the country's DGS health authority said. "Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas," he said. "This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure."Hannah Cloke, climate expert at Britain's University of Reading, said the heatwave showed climate change is here and there is an urgent need to adapt.
In Portugal, the highest temperature on Thursday was recorded in the northern town of Pinhao at 47 C , just below the record.
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