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

MADRID (AP) — Thousands of firefighters in Spain and Portugal on Thursday battled 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 100 km (62 miles) west of Madrid, emergency services said.

In the western province of Caceres, local authorities said firefighters had largely stabilized 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 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) by Sunday. In Portugal, temperatures are expected to rise Saturday into the upper 30s Celsius across most of the country.

Despite record-high temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius 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 southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.

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