MADRID (AP) — Thousands of firefighters in Spain and Portugal battled several wildfires Thursday ahead of an expected rise in temperatures that could worsen the situation on the Iberian Peninsula.
In central Spain, firefighters and a special military unit worked overnight to control blazes in the province of Avila, especially a fire burning near the village of El Arenal, about 100 km (60 miles) west of Madrid, emergency services said.
In the western province of Caceres, local authorities said firefighters had largely stabilized a fire that affected some 2,500 hectares (roughly 6,200 acres). Most evacuation orders there had been lifted, authorities said.
In Portugal, more than 2,000 firefighters were battling blazes, particularly in the north of the country.
Much of the peninsula is already under a high risk of wildfires, and temperatures were expected to rise over the weekend.
Spain’s meteorology service AEMET predicted that temperatures in central and southern Spain could exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) by Sunday. In Portugal, temperatures are expected to rise Saturday into the upper 30s Celsius across most of the country.
Despite record-high temperatures in June that topped 40 degrees Celsius on several days, wildfires in Spain this year have so far burned less surface area than in recent years.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.
The burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal releases heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere which drive climate change.
Human activities often trigger wildfires. On Thursday, Albanian authorities said 21 people were taken into custody for suspected arson over the past few weeks, when the country was battling 59 major wildfires that damaged damaged 29,000 hectares (71,660 acres) of land.
Albania’s Interior Minister Arsen Hoxha said most of the wildfires, which were extinguished by rain, had been started by humans.
