"Collective Suicide of Mankind": London is hotter today than Western Sahara
The all-time record temperature has been broken in the UK capital, with more than a thousand people having died so far in the ongoing heat wave in Portugal and Spain.
In France, fires spread over an area of 100,000 dunams.
UN Secretary-General: Half of humanity is in danger of floods, droughts, extreme storms and fires.
No nation is immune "
News agencies
18/07/2022
Monday, 18 July 2022, 09:59 Updated: 16:16
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In the video: Heat wave in Europe (Photo: Reuters)
Authorities across southern Europe continue today (Monday) to fight huge fires in Spain, Greece, France and Portugal, and the death toll from the extreme heat continues to rise.
More than a thousand people have died so far due to the ongoing heat wave in Portugal and Spain.
Temperatures in some parts of Spain have even reached 45.7 degrees Celsius, and the Spanish weather agency has issued heat warnings in large parts of the country, including in the north.
According to the agency, the heat wave may end today, but temperatures will still remain "extremely high."
In the Gerta Valley, where a fire is raging when temperatures are above 40 degrees Celsius, helicopters have rained water in a mountainous area, making it difficult for firefighting efforts.
The stunned residents watched the high flames and thick smoke over the valley.
"Climate change is affecting everyone," said Miguel Angel Tamio.
Malaga and Alan McCardi, residents of Malaga, fled to a local sports center after being forced to leave their home on Saturday due to the fires.
"It was very fast ... at first we did not think it was serious. I thought the fire was under control and I was surprised to see it approaching us," 68-year-old William told Reuters.
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In Portugal, about a thousand firefighters are trying to stop 13 forest fires in the center and north.
The Ministry of Health announced that in the last week 659 people died due to the heat wave, most of them adults.
In Greece, 71 fires broke out in 24 hours on Saturday.
In France, fires spread over 100,000 dunams in the southwest of the country, in the province of Girona, and more than 14,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
1,200 firefighters are battling the blaze, authorities said.
The government issued a red alert, the highest, calling on residents to "be vigilant."
In Italy, smaller fires are raging in recent days, and temperatures are expected to remain above 40 in some areas in the coming days as well.
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Schools were closed across England
In the UK, temperatures are expected to reach 41 degrees Celsius - an all-time high.
The British National Weather Agency has issued a "extreme heat" red alert for the first time in history.
As a result, London will become one of the hottest places in the world - more than Western Sahara, Jamaica in the Caribbean, Malaga in Spain and Athens in Greece.
The hot weather is expected to continue tomorrow before it cools down on Wednesday.
Extreme heat wave in Europe
1/6 (Photo: Reuters)
The red alert means there will be a "widespread impact on people and infrastructure, with significant changes in workplaces and daily routines."
Some schools will close today or end the school day earlier than usual.
The British Railways Corporation has warned that people should only travel if "it is absolutely necessary", and some line cancellations have already been announced, as well as restrictions on train speeds.
Along with the Meteorological Office's red alert, the British Ministry of Health has also issued a fourth-level warning - meaning "state of emergency".
Health Minister Steve Berkeley said ambulance services would be expanded, and emergency centers strengthened.
The London Ambulance Service said it had received 7,000 calls a day since the heatwave began - compared to an average of 5,500 a day on a routine basis.
In the video: fires in France and Spain and unusual heat warning in the UK (Photo: Reuters)
Water companies in the south and east of England have reported a jump in demand that has led to low pressure and disruptions in water supply.
Alongside this, the beaches across the country were also busy over the weekend.
The Chester Zoo is closed to visitors during the heat wave.
Experts urge people to drink plenty of water and draw back the curtains so that no sunlight enters.
"In this country we treat a heat wave as a situation where you can play in the sun," said Penny Andersby, director of the British Meteorological Office. "This is not the weather we are talking about today."
"Collective suicide"
Mankind is facing "collective suicide," the UN secretary general said Monday, amid a deadly heat wave and record-breaking in parts of Europe.
Antonio Guterres told ministers from 40 countries who met to discuss climate change that "half of humanity is in a danger zone of floods, droughts, extreme storms and fires. No nation is immune. And yet we continue our addiction to fossil fuels," the Guardian was quoted as saying.
He added that "we have a choice. Collective action or collective suicide. It is in our hands."
The ministers, who are meeting in Paris for a two-day conference known as the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, are expected to discuss the extreme weather that has claimed the lives of a thousand people so far in Spain and Portugal.
Ministers will also discuss rising energy and food prices, and the effects of the climate crisis.
This will be the last opportunity to reach an agreement on the issue ahead of the UN Climate Summit in Egypt Cop27, to be held in November.
At the previous summit, Cop26, participating countries agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but the commitments they received were insufficient for this target.
All of them agreed this year to reach the summit with an improved plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Guterres criticized the "Development Banks," which include the World Bank, which are funded by taxpayers in rich countries and aim to provide financial assistance to poor countries.
He said they needed to undergo reforms to provide the necessary funding regarding the climate crisis.
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