Spain battles wildfires as heatwave kicks in

Firefighters battled threewildfiresinSpainon Thursday as aheatwavethat has enveloped southeastern Europe in recent days shifted west towards the Iberian peninsula.

Dozens of firefighters backed by four water-dropping aircraft were on the scene of a blaze in the northeastern province of Tarragona which has so far destroyed some 40 hectares (100 acres) of protected forest, local officials said.

Two smaller fires were burning in the northern wine-producing region of La Rioja and the northeastern province of Zaragoza, which involved two planes.

Thewildfirescome as temperatures were forecast to reach highs of around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in much ofSpainand neighbouring Portugal in the coming days.

The mercury could hit the mid-40s in some areas of southernSpain.

Scientists say global temperature rises powered by manmade climate change will make heatwaves more frequent and more intense, and their impact more widespread.

Aheatwavefed by hot air from North Africa has engulfed large parts of the Mediterranean region in recent days, contributing to massivewildfiresand killing dozens of people in Italy, Turkey, Greece and Algeria.

All but three ofSpain's 17 regions were on alert for heat while Portugal's weather office warned that the centre and north of the country as well as parts of the southern Algarve province were on "maximum" alert forwildfires.

In 2017, fires killed dozens of people in Portugal.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa urged people to avoid "risky behaviours" which could causewildfires.

"We know that the next few days are going to be difficult," he told reporters on Thursday during a visit to a civil protection headquarters.

"We are facing a permanent challenge that is the result of climate change," he added.

Spain's northeastern Catalonia region on Thursday banned camping in forests and sporting activities in rural areas to reduce the risk ofwildfires.

It also prohibited the use of some farm equipment during the hottest hours of the day.

For the first time since 1920, temperatures are forecast to soar above 40 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days at Madrid's central Retiro park, tweeted Ruben del Campo, the spokesman forSpain's national weather office AEMET.

The number of heatwaves registered inSpainbetween 2011 and 2020 is double the number recorded in each of the three previous decades, he told AFP.