AFP

Britain and France went on heatwave alert on Monday facing record temperatures as southwest Europe wilted under a scorching sun and ferocious wildfires devoured more forests.

Forecasters in Britain warned of havoc in a country unprepared for the onslaught of extreme heat that authorities said was putting lives at risk.

The mercury was set to rise to 38 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in London Monday — not far below Britain’s all-time record of 38.7C — and could breach the 40C mark for the first time by Tuesday, meteorologists said.

Scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather.

Across the Channel firefighters failed to contain two massive fires in France’s southwest that have created apocalyptic scenes of destruction.

For six days, armies of firefighters and a fleet of waterbombing aircraft have struggled against blazes that have mobilised much of France’s entire firefighting capacity.

Forecasters have put 15 French departments on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures, including in the western Brittany region where the Atlantic coastal city of Brest was expected to hit 40 Celsius Monday, nearly twice its usual July temperature average.

By early afternoon, Brest had already beaten its all-time record of 35.2 C set in 1949.

The European heatwave, spreading north, is the second to engulf parts of the southwest of the continent within only weeks.

– ‘Heat apocalypse’ –

Blazes burning in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee.

In France’s Landes forest, in the southwest Aquitaine region, temperatures “will be above 42 degrees Celsius” on Monday, forecaster Olivier Proust said.

In the Gironde region, further north, firefighters on Monday continued their battle against forest blazes that have devoured nearly 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) since Tuesday.

An area of nine kilometres (5.5 miles) long and eight kilometres wide was still ablaze near the Dune de Pilat, Europe’s highest sand dune, turning picturesque landscapes, popular campsites and pristine beaches into a scorching mess.

Another 8,000 people were being evacuated near the dune Monday as changing winds blew thick smoke into residential areas, officials said.

“The smoke is toxic,” firefighter spokesman Arnaud Mendousse told AFP. “Protecting the population is a matter of public health.”

The evacuations added to the 16,000 tourists or residents already forced to decamp in France, many to emergency shelters.

“In some southwestern areas, it will be a heat apocalypse,” meteorologist Francois Gourand told AFP.

In Spain, fire burning in the northwestern province of Zamora claimed the life of a 69-year-old shepherd, regional authorities said, the second death after that of a fireman a day before in the same area.

Authorities have reported around 20 wildfires still raging from the south to Galicia in the far northwest, where blazes have destroyed around 4,500 hectares of land. 

In Portugal, almost the entire country remained on high alert for wildfires despite a slight drop in temperatures which had hit 47C — a record for the month of July — last Thursday.

– ‘Get on with it’ –

Fires have killed two, injured around 60 and destroyed between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares of land in Portugal.

In Britain, the government, already on the ropes after a series of scandals and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation, drew fresh criticism for failing to take the situation seriously enough.

“This is serious heat that could actually, ultimately, end in people’s deaths because it is so ferocious,” College of Paramedics chief executive Tracy Nicholls told Sky News.

The Sun tabloid headlined its coverage of the heat “British Bake Off”, observing that the “scorcher” was making the UK hotter than Ibiza where, indeed, temperatures were a comparatively paltry 30C on Monday.

“It is a bit frightening,” Karina Lawford, 56, told AFP as she took a stroll by the sea in Tankerton on the north Kent coast, saying the heat reminded her of Australia where she lives.

Britain’s chief meteorologist Paul Davies said the heatwave was “entirely consistent with climate change”, telling Sky News the “brutality” of the heatwave was “astounding” but could become a regular occurrence “by the end of the century”.

Network Rail, which is responsible for rail infrastructure, said the main east coast route out of London King’s Cross to York and Leeds would be shut between 1100 GMT and 1900 GMT on Tuesday.

But some in Britain, like 64-year-old plumber Dave Williams, were dismissive of the wall-to-wall coverage of the heatwave.

“Just get on with it,” he told AFPTV. “The way they talk about it is as if we’ve never had a summer.”

Among people heading to the beaches for respite was Abu Bakr, a bank worker, who also put the British heatwave into perspective.

“I come from Sudan,” he said as he relaxed on Brighton beach. “Forty, forty-five degrees is just the norm. This is as good as it can be.”

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Malaysian customs officials said Monday they seized a stash of rare animal parts worth $18 million thought to have come from Africa, including elephant tusks, rhino horns and pangolin scales. 

The Southeast Asian nation is a hub for wildlife trafficking, with animal parts shipped through the country to lucrative regional markets.  

Authorities foiled a smuggling attempt on July 10 when they uncovered the illicit cargo in Port Klang, on Malaysia’s west coast, hidden in a container along with timber. 

The shipment included an estimated 6,000 kilograms (13,200 pounds) of elephant tusks — Malaysia’s biggest single seizure of elephant ivory, said customs department chief Zazuli Johan.

There were also 29 kilograms of rhino horns, 100 kilos of pangolin scales, and 300 kilos of animal skulls and other bones, he told a press conference. 

The seizure had an estimated value of 80 million ringgit ($18 million), he said, adding it was believed to have come from Africa, without giving more details.

Zazuli said Malaysia was not the shipment’s final destination, but did not say where it was heading.

Animal parts such as elephant tusks and pangolin scales are popular in countries where they are used in traditional medicine, including China and Vietnam.   

There have been no arrests over the seizure. 

Kanitha Krishnasamy — Southeast Asia director at wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic — hailed the “significant seizure”.

“This medley of threatened species in a single seizure is concerning, and it certainly verifies the suspicion that criminals continue to use Malaysian ports to move contraband wildlife,” she said.

Europe’s increasingly frequent heatwaves are back under the spotlight over devastating wildfires and with sweltering temperatures forecast to hit record highs in Britain and France this week.

In just over two decades, the continent has experienced its five hottest summers since 1500.

– 2022: Double trouble –

A heatwave engulfing western Europe, the second in a month, sparks huge wildfires and threatens to smash records in Britain and France.

Fires in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain force thousands of residents and tourists to flee and kill several people, including a Spanish shepherd and a firefighter.

Britain braces for an all-time high of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) or more. Brittany in France could also register similar temperatures in what would be a regional record.

The weather warnings come hot on the heels of a scorching spell in June, where parts of Europe, from Spain to Germany, sizzled at unseasonal highs of between 40C to 43C.

– 2021: Hottest ever –

Last year is Europe’s hottest summer on record, according to the European climate change monitoring service Copernicus.

Between late July and early August 2021, Greece endures what Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis calls the country’s worst heatwave in over 30 years, with temperatures hitting 45C in some regions.

In Spain, temperatures reach 47C in parts of the south, according to national weather agency AEMET.

The heat and drought spark large wildfires along the Mediterranean, from Turkey and Greece to Italy and Spain.

– 2019: Northern Europe swelters –

The summer of 2019 brings two heatwaves, which leave around 2,500 people dead, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters of Belgium’s Louvain University.

In France, temperatures hit a record 46C on June 28 in the southern town of Verargues. Thousands of schools are closed.

On July 24 and 25, northern Europe fries in record heat. Temperatures of 42.6C are recorded at Lingen in northwestern Germany, 41.8C in Begijnendijk in northern Belgium and 38.7C in the eastern English city of Cambridge.

– 2018: Drought drains the Danube –

The second half of July and beginning of August 2018 sees very high temperatures across much of Europe and rivers running dry due to drought.

The Danube falls to its lowest level in 100 years in some areas, notably exposing World War II tanks in Serbia that were submerged since the conflict.

Portugal and Spain suffer hugely destructive forest fires.

– 2017: Months of mugginess –

Much of Europe, but especially the south, sweats from late June to well into August. 

Spain set a record of 47.3C on July 13 in the southern town of Montoro.

Persistent drought sparks forest fires in Portugal.

– 2015: Back-to-back heatwaves –

It’s heatwave after heatwave throughout the summer of 2015 which leaves an estimated 1,700 people dead in France.

In Britain, roads melt and trains are delayed in the hottest July on record, with temperatures reaching 36.7C at Heathrow airport.

– 2007: Greek forests ablaze –

Central and southern Europe are parched by drought throughout June and July, provoking a spate of forest fires in Italy, North Macedonia and Serbia. 

In Hungary, 500 people die as a result of the heat. 

– 2003: 70,000 dead –

Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal all experience exceptional heat in the first half of August, with Portugal suffering a record 47.3C at Amareleja in the south.

An EU study of 16 nations puts the number of excess deaths across the bloc during the heatwave as high as 70,000, with France and Italy each seeing between 15,000 and 20,000 fatalities, according to various reports since.

In France, most of the victims are elderly people in an episode that traumatises the country and leads to the implementation of new systems of protection during heatwaves.

Britain and France went on heatwave alert on Monday bracing for record temperatures as southwest Europe wilted under a scorching sun and ferocious wildfires devoured more forests.

Britain could hit 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for the first time, forecasters said, causing havoc in a country unprepared for the onslaught of extreme heat that authorities said was putting lives at risk.

Britain’s current record temperature stands at 38.7 Celsius. Scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather.

Across the Channel firefighters failed to contain two massive fires in France’s southwest that have created apocalyptic scenes of destruction.

For six days, armies of firefighters and a fleet of waterbombing aircraft have struggled against blazes that have mobilised much of France’s entire firefighting capacity.

Forecasters have put 15 French departments on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures, including in the western Brittany region where the Atlantic coastal city of Brest was expected to hit 40 Celsius Monday, nearly twice its usual July temperature average.

The European heatwave, spreading north, is the second to engulf parts of the southwest of the continent within only weeks.

– ‘Heat apocalypse’ –

Blazes burning in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee.

In France’s Landes forest, in the southwest Aquitaine region, temperatures “will be above 42 degrees Celsius” on Monday, forecaster Olivier Proust said.

In the Gironde region, further north, firefighters on Monday continued their battle against forest blazes that have devoured nearly 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) since Tuesday.

An area of nine kilometres (5.5 miles) long and eight kilometres wide was still ablaze near the Dune de Pilat, Europe’s highest sand dune, turning picturesque landscapes, popular campsites and pristine beaches into a scorching mess.

Firefighters said Monday was shaping up to be one of the most challenging days since the fires started because of the relentless heat, as another 3,500 people were being told to leave their homes as a precaution.

The wildfires in France have forced more than 16,000 people, residents or tourists, to decamp. Seven emergency shelters have been set up for evacuees.

France’s interior ministry announced it would send an extra three firefighting planes, 200 firefighters and more trucks.

“In some southwestern areas, it will be a heat apocalypse,” meteorologist Francois Gourand told AFP.

– Temperatures hit 47C –

The chapel of a historic hospital in the southeast city of Lyon, Grand Hotel Dieu, offered refuge to tourists on Sunday including Jean-Marc, 51, who was visiting from Alsace.

“We came back to admire the place, but we can’t leave, it’s too hot outside. We say a prayer before the fire!” he quipped.

French cyclist Mikael Cherel, taking part in the Tour de France’s 15th stage between Rodez and Carcassonne in southern France on Sunday, said he had “never known such a hot day on a bike”.

In Spain, fire burning in the northwestern province of Zamora claimed the life of a 69-year-old shepherd, regional authorities said, the second death after that of a fireman a day before in the same area.

Authorities have reported around 20 wildfires still raging from the south to Galicia in the far northwest, where blazes have destroyed around 4,500 hectares of land. 

In Portugal, almost the entire country remained on high alert for wildfires despite a slight drop in temperatures which had hit 47C — a record for the month of July — last Thursday.

– ‘So ferocious’ –

Fires have killed two, injured around 60 and destroyed between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares of land in Portugal.

In London, the mercury was set to rise to highs of 38C on Monday as chief meteorologist Paul Davies warned there was a “good chance now of hitting 40C or 41C” on Tuesday.

“This is entirely consistent with climate change,” he told Sky News, describing the “brutality” of the expected heat as “astounding”. 

The government, already on the ropes after a series of scandals and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation, drew fresh criticism for failing to take the situation seriously enough.

“This is serious heat that could actually, ultimately, end in people’s deaths because it is so ferocious,” College of Paramedics chief executive Tracy Nicholls told Sky News.

Many people fled to the beaches, including Abu Bakr, a bank worker, who put the British heatwave into perspective.

“I come from Sudan,” he told AFPTV on Brighton beach on Sunday. “Forty, forty-five degrees is just the norm. This is as good as it can be.”

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