(CMR) Wildfires have been raging in parts of Europe as extreme heat has engulfed the continent. Approximately 400 firefighters are reportedly battling at least seven fires across London. Fires have been reported in France and Spain, drought in Portugal, and the third hottest day on record in the UK on Monday.
According to CNN, fire has spread across 27,000 acres in the Gironde department of southwest France, forcing 32,000 people to evacuate. The nearby town of Cazaux recorded 42.4 degrees Celsius (108.3 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, the hottest it has seen since its weather station first opened more than 100 years ago in 1921, according to French national meteorological service Météo France.
CNN also reported that major cities in Western France, such as Nantes and Brest, also hit new heat records. In Finistère, on the country's Atlantic coast, fires had first been reported on Monday afternoon; less than eight hours later, the flames had decimated more than 700 acres of land, prompting the evacuation of several villages.
In Spain, wildfires swept Castile and Léon's central region and Galicia's northern region, forcing the state railway company to suspend service between Madrid and Galicia.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that more than 70,000 hectares had been destroyed in Spain because of fires this year. “Seventy-thousand hectares, to give you an idea, is almost double the last decade's average,” he said.
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