“We cannot continue to be burned on mild heat”: criticism of the mayor of Vila Real have already arrived in the United States

This article was published in CNN Internacional, citing testimonies collected across Europe, including in Portugal

Europe is on its way to the worst season of forest fires ever registered, with vast areas of the continent – including France, Spain, Albania, Portugal and Greece – fighting violent and deadly fires, while temperatures exceed 37 degrees Celsius.

Forest fires are not uncommon in Europe, but the climate crisis is causing a warmer and more dry climate, which is creating the conditions for more violent fires.

Fires on the continent have burned more hectares so far this year than in any of the last 19 years, according to a CNN analysis of European Forest Fire Information System.

Nearly 2.4 million hectares have been consumed by fires so far, more than double the average burned area -which would usually be just over 865,000 hectares in early August -placing 2025 on the way to being the longer -long forest fires season to this day.

In Spain, almost a thousand firefighters were highlighted across the country and the fires led to the evacuation of thousands of people.

A large fire launched in three corners near Madrid on Monday, consuming about 2,500 hectares and causing the death of a man who died in the hospital after suffering burns in 98% of his body, according to Reuters.

The fire was practically controlled on Tuesday, but dozens of other fires continued to burn other places, including in the northwest region of Castile and Leão.

In southern Spain, about 2,000 people, including tourists, were evacuated from the popular tariff city due to a forest fire that spread near the beaches. The famous chef José Andrés images of the region that showed the flames to consume the slopes.

There may be little truce for the risk of fires in Spain, as temperatures in some parts of the country exceed 43 ° C this week. “The danger is extraordinary,” warned Spanish Aemet Meteorological Agency on Tuesday about the heat.

The fires are also burning in Portugal. A large fire near Trancoso, in downtown Portugal, burned more than 30 km², according to the European Copenicus Emergency Management Service. About 1,200 firefighters and 400 vehicles were mobilized to combat the fire.

The fires in the Vila Real district, in the north of Portugal, already last 10 days. “We cannot continue to be burned on a low heat,” said Alexandre Favaios, mayor of the city.

Temperatures are expected to exceed 40 ° C in many parts of the country on Wednesday, according to the National Meteorological Agency, the IPMA.

In recent days, fires have spread throughout southern Europe. On Sunday, dozens of fires triggered near Mount Vesuvio, in southern Italy, leading to the closing of rails in the mountains. The country’s Ministry of Health issued red warm alerts to 16 cities.

In France, a huge forest fire in the southern region of Aude – the largest in the country since 1949, according to authorities – is now practically controlled, but authorities fear that they can rekindle with the continuation of the strong heat wave. The fire caused at least one death last week.

Many Balkan countries have also struggled to control fires. Dozens of fires are devastating Albania, including near the “blue eye”, a source of water and popular protected natural park among tourists.

In the neighboring Montenegro, the fires near the Podgoric capital launched clouds of smoke over the city, and in Croatia, the firefighters managed to contain a fire that launched near the city of Split on Monday.

Europe is the continent that faster warms in the world, and the heat and dry records have contributed to feed this summer fires. Scientists warn that as the climate crisis caused by man gets worse, forest fires will only become more frequent and more serious.