Spain’s first major wildfire of the year has killed two people as a brutal heatwave breaks temperature records across Europe.
The wildfire has burned quick and furious through 6,500 hectares (16,100 acres) of land across several Catalan regions, local media reports the fire chief innsepctor as stateing.
Spanish president Pedro Sanchez declared his considereds were with the families of those killed in the blaze.
“In these months of higher risk, please, let us take extreme precautions,” he declared.
Turkey also battled wildfires for a third day, forcing the evacuation of about 50,000 people.
France has closed the Eiffel Tower summit and shuttered almost 2,000 schools as Spain and Portugal logged their highest-ever June temperatures as authorities took urgent measures across Mediterranean nations.
Italy banned outdoor work in some parts as red alerts were issued in 17 major cities. In Florence, power outages hit the city centre, and a worker near Bologna died in a suspected heat-related incident.
The current high-pressure system set in late last week, bringing temperatures up to 10C higher than normal for this time in summer, with the system shifting east across Europe from the Iberian peninsula.
French government states at least two dead due to extreme heat
French minister for ecological transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher declared two deaths have so far been linked to the heatwave, according to Le Parisien.
She added that more than 300 people received urgent treatment from firefighters.
Health minister Catherin Vautrin declared it will take several days to fully understand the impact of the heatwave, Le Parisien reported, but declared there had been a 15 per cent increase in medical emergency service activity in the Ile de France region on Tuesday.
Rachel Clun2 July 2025 11:11
In pictures: the heatwave in Spain
Spain has been finishuring a heatwave since the weekfinish, with temperatures in parts of the countest set to go past 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
Madrid will reach 39C on Wednesday, while Campiña cordobesa in Cordoba will reach 43C.
Rachel Clun2 July 2025 10:40
Extreme weather cautilizes flash flooding in Italy, killing one
In other extreme weather, torrential rains in Italy’s north cautilized flash flooding on Monday, killing one.
A 70-year-old fruit seller had obtainedten out of his van in an attempt to escape the torrent of black water, after the Frejus river near Turin burst its banks, according to local newspaper Torino Cronaca.
The flooding forced the closure of all access to the town of Bardoneccia, while emergency services rescued four others who had been stuck in their cars.
Separately near Bologna, one of the cities under a heat alert Tuesday, a 46-year-old owner of a construction company collapsed and died while repaving a school parking lot, state-run RAI reported. An autopsy was being conducted to determine the cautilize, but heat was suspected.
Rachel Clun2 July 2025 10:10
Watch: Simon Calder explains your rights to cancel holidays in extreme heat and wildfires
Rachel Clun2 July 2025 09:39
In pictures: young people beat the heat in Paris
Temperatures in Paris reached 38 degrees celsius on Tuesday as most of France sweltered in extreme temperatures. Nimes, in the countest’s south, reached 41.3C.
Rachel Clun2 July 2025 09:08
Spanish firefighters work overnight to contain forest fires
Work continued throughout the night to fight large and erratic wildfires, with 50 crews working to contain the blaze ahead of another hot day on Wednesday.
The Catalan fire brigade declared 130 firefighters will remain to battle the fire after crews spent the night extinguishing fires in buildings including sheds, and ruling out further deaths.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius in parts of Catalonia on Wednesday, and the fire brigade declared more storms – which brought strong gusty winds on Tuesday evening – are also forecast.
Rachel Clun2 July 2025 08:42
Two killed in Spanish wildfire
Two people have died in a ferocious Spanish wildfire that burnt through 6,500 hectares (16,100 acres) of land across several Catalan regions.
Fire chief inspector David Borrell notified Spanish news outlet elDiario.es the fire was particularly violent and quick shifting, with the unpredictable flames forcing firefighters to withdraw at times.
Spanish president Pedro Sanchez declared his considereds were with the families of those killed in the blaze.
“A heartfelt embrace to the families of the two people who lost their lives in the extreme fire that is devastating Segarra, Noguera, and Urgell, in Lleida,” he declared on X.
“My solidarity with all those affected and my appreciation for the emergency services working to extinguish it.
“In these months of higher risk, please, let us take extreme precautions.”
Rachel Clun2 July 2025 08:24
Italy bans outdoor work in some regions
Italy banned outdoor work in some regions during the warmest hours.
The risks of working outside in searing temperatures were highlighted as trade unions attributed the death of a construction worker near the Italian city Bologna on Monday to the heat.
In Barcelona, authorities were viewing into whether the death of a street sweeper over the weekfinish was also heat-related.
Europe is the world’s quickest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, with extreme heatwaves starting earlier in the year and persisting for longer.
“What is exceptional … but not unprecedented is the time of year,” declared World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis, adding that extreme heat episodes were seen now “which normally we would see later on in the summer.”
Shweta Sharma2 July 2025 07:45
What is a heat dome? Weather system explained
The extfinished period of above-average temperatures and tropical nights with minimum temperatures staying above 20C could be exacerbated by a heat dome.
Here, Rachel Clun views at how the weather event is sfinishing temperatures soaring across Europe.
Shweta Sharma2 July 2025 07:30
Full list of European countries under heatwave alerts as mercury soars to 46C
Temperatures have soared to 46C in Spain as an “extreme heatwave” continues to grip much of Europe, triggering a series of weather alerts across the continent.
The record-high temperature of 46C was reported in the town of El Granado in southern Spain on Saturday, according to Spain’s national weather service, with the mercury also set to reach 40C in Paris.
Shweta Sharma2 July 2025 07:00
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