Weeks of excessive heat and drought caused by
climate change have left forests in Portugal parched and highly vulnerable to
devastating wildfires.
An estimated 154 square kilometres have so far been
burnt as more than 5,000 firefighters do their best to contain 100 active wildfires
in 50 municipalities across mainland Portugal.
Last weekend, firefighters backed by around a
dozen water‑bombing aircraft began battling huge blazes in central and
northern parts of the country Since then, the authorities have
been issuing urgent alerts warning citizens about further aggressive heatwaves
throughout the country.
The most complex battles so far have been in Ponte
da Barca, in the district of Viana do Castelo, in central Portugal. Four
villages had to be evacuated. One blaze destroyed around 3,000 hectares of
forest, according to the National Civil Protection Agency.
From the beginning of this year until 15 July, more
than 3,000 fires had burnt a total of 10,768 hectares of scrub, forests and
agricultural land in Portugal, three times more than in the same period last
year. And while these figures do not include this week’s fires, the hot month
of August still lies ahead.
None of this is new to Portuguese firefighters.
They have fought similar battles in recent years, but this is so far the worst
incident this year on the entire Iberian Peninsula.
Some of the fiercest fires have been in the Evora
and Beja districts. The mountainous area of Arouca, about 300 kilometres north
of Lisbon, has also been badly affected. The popular scenic trails of
Passadiços do Paiva, much loved by tourists, were closed earlier this week.
Earlier, hard‑to‑control fires broke out in the
Peneda‑Gerês National Park near the Spanish border, enveloping nearby villages
in such dense smoke that residents were urged to stay indoors.
Several suspects linked to fires are believed to
have been arrested.
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