Firefighters bring northeastern Spain blaze under control
Firefighters brought a wildfire in a forest in Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia under control Friday as scorching temperatures put most of the country at risk for blazes.
Two fires have swept through the central Ávila and eastern Valencia regions of Spain as high temperatures and significant amounts of airborne dust cause considerable fire risks in the country.
Elsewhere in Spain, dozens of firefighters were battling a wildfire which broke out on Thursday evening near the town of Rubia, in the verdant northwestern region of Galicia. This fire has so far destroyed about 200 hectares of land, the regional government of Galicia said in a tweet.
A punishing heatwave has fanned wildfires across southern European in recent weeks, claiming lives in Greece, Italy and Turkey, as experts warn that climate change increases the frequency and intensity of such extreme weather events.
The weather office said that 15 of Spain's 17 autonomous regions were on alert for high temperatures, with the mercury forecast to reach highs of 36 to 40 degrees Celsius (97 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday in much of the country. Temperatures could hit 46 degrees Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) in the provinces of Seville, Cordoba and Jaen in the southwestern Andalusia region. The hot weather is expected to last until Monday.
The heatwave comes after a "code red" report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this week warned that the world is warming far faster than previously feared.
