Wildfires scorch parts of France and Spain

2 min read

Wildfires are burning parts of Spain and France after a Western European summer of record heat waves and low rainfall left grasses and forests dried out. Firefighters have battled blazes near earlier heat-wave centers, and thousands evacuated suburbs of Bordeaux after prolonged high temperatures and little rain. Scientists caution that while single fires are hard to attribute, last month’s broiling temperatures were made likelier by fossil fuel burning, and the IPCC warned that Mediterranean fire weather will probably increase this century, implying higher future fire risk and management demands.

Heat and drought made fires more likely across western Europe