Severe fires are raging in France and Spain due to the heat. What the media is writing

The hot and dry weather caused the strongest forest fires in Europe. In France and Spain, they have reached a huge scale and have already destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of vegetation. In total, more than 300,000 people were evacuated from the disaster area. In the coming days, temperatures in the fire-ravaged countries will only rise, provoking new fires. What the media write about the disaster is in the Izvestia digest.

France 24: France and Spain continue to fight fires

France and Spain are fighting the largest wildfires in recorded history, which have destroyed hundreds of hectares of forests, destroyed buildings and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people. The return of the sizzling heat, starting on July 28 in France and on July 29 in Spain, threatens to complicate firefighting efforts. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlasca said the coming hours would be "absolutely crucial" in order to bring the fires raging west of Madrid under control.

Since the beginning of this year, about 150,000 gazelles have burned in Spain, and 115,000 hectares in France. Earlier in July, 13 people died as a result of a forest fire in southwestern Spain, and the flames engulfed the UNESCO—listed Fontainebleau Forest south of Paris. In the vicinity of Bordeaux in France, firefighters are assisted by tractors equipped with landfills for clearing land, and pickups towing water tanks.

"In the coming years, summers will lengthen and periods of heat and cold will change dramatically"

Climatologist Alexander Chernokulsky — on the impact of global warming on the weather in Russia

Associated Press: Macron calls fires the biggest crisis since World War II

French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit to the coordination center for extinguishing forest fires in the south-west of the country. He was informed that the fire that had been raging since last week was extremely unpredictable, at times it turned into a self-sustaining firestorm that engulfed an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to flee their homes.

Macron warned that the battle is not won yet, as forests have become dry and flammable due to successive heat waves this year. Another wave is forecast for the next week, drier than the previous ones. The National Weather Service predicts temperatures of 35 degrees and above in southwestern France from July 28. The authorities are working to provide food, shelter and care for the evacuees, who have fled the disaster zone in large numbers.​

Politico: wildfires have reignited political tensions in Spain

Large-scale forest fires, which forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people in Spain, are reviving internal political strife, which usually subsides during the summer months, when the country's parliament is on vacation. As a result of fires raging in the Spanish regions of Madrid, Avila, Toledo and Castellon, more than 45 thousand hectares of land have burned out. At least one person has been confirmed dead, and the proximity of the fires to the capital has prompted authorities to recommend that its population stay at home or wear masks.

Spain's regional authorities usually have jurisdiction over disaster management issues and have the right to request the Government to declare a national emergency and take over management of response operations only in cases where they cannot handle it on their own. Ayuso's decision to request an emergency caused sharp criticism from center-left figures against her and accusations of Madrid's inability to fight fires on its own.

The Guardian: Why wildfires in Europe are so strong

The combination of an unusually wet winter, very low rainfall since spring, and repeated record-breaking summer heat waves explains why wildfires have been so easily ignited, spread, and uncontrollable in France and Spain in recent days. Approximately 90% of forest fires are caused by human activity, usually due to the burning of grass, pine needles, fallen leaves and branches. The drought in Western Europe has turned vegetation, which usually dries out in just a few hours at high temperatures and low rainfall, into a flammable material.

Heavy rains and thunderstorms near the largest fires in France and Spain brought little precipitation and may even have worsened the situation. The evaporation of rain under a thundercloud cools the air, making it denser so that it quickly sinks to the ground before spreading in all directions. These downdraft can contribute to sudden and unpredictable fire behavior. Lightning flying from clouds to the ground without accompanying precipitation can also cause new fires.

Reuters: forest fires in Europe overload aviation capabilities

Avincis, Europe's largest aviation provider for emergency services, warns that Europe is not ready for longer and more extreme wildfire seasons. John Boag, the company's CEO, said that their fire fighting aircraft is now in demand almost all year round. He noted that the increased length of the fire season in Europe and bureaucratic obstacles have exacerbated the shortage of both aircraft and experienced pilots in the region.

Avincis has a fleet of 180 helicopters and 40 aircraft worldwide, including 22 Canadair amphibious aircraft designed to extinguish fires. In Spain and Portugal, Avincis, which operates a fleet of 47 aircraft, has flown more than 5,000 hours of firefighting operations since the beginning of the year, more than double the figure for the same period last year. Europe has already placed a collective order for 22 Canadair amphibious aircraft. After a ten—year break in production, a new model is being prepared, but the first customer, Greece, will receive it no earlier than 2028.