irefighters in Portugal are battling to contain wildfires engulfing thousands of hectares amid soaring temperatures. Around 800 personnel attended a fire near the southern town of Odemira overnight on Monday, with more than 1,400 people having to evacuate. In Portugal, Monday saw a temperature of 46.4C (116F), the hottest of the year so far, recorded in Santarém.
Temperatures were above 40 degrees Celsius (°C) in some regions of Portugal and authorities said wildfire risks would remain “very high or at maximum level across the entire country” over the coming days.
Around 7,000 hectares were destroyed in the district of Castelo Branco in the centre of the country on Sunday but the commander of the firefighting operation, Jose Gulherme, said the potential risk from the blaze could be as high as “more than 20,000 hectares”
A further 400 firefighters were deployed to battle a separate wildfire in Odemira, near the southwest coast. Civil security official Tiago Bugio said the flames in Odemira were being beaten back. Authorities have declared more than 120 municipalities across Portugal at maximum risk of wildfires.
Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.
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