WILDFIRES ARE GETTING WORSE

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Intensifying heat and wildfires continue to devastate big areas of Portugal with no end yet in sight.

An added problem is that “the fight against climate misinformation is being hampered by a phenomenon of paralysis in which people believe that combating climate change is not worth the effort,” according to Alice Fonseca, a climate and policy expert at World Wildlife (WWL) Portugal

Disinformation about climate change is increasingly targeting individuals, institutions and vulnerable social groups in Portugal, says Filipe Pardal, chief operating officer of the Portuguese fact-tracker at “Poligrafo”, a government member of the European Fact-checking Standards Network. There has been a spike of false information across social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook 

Meanwhile, accurate reports are coming in daily of devastating wildfires caused by severe heat and bone-dry conditions forcing evacuations not only in Portugal, but across Spain and France. 

An enormous blaze that erupted this Tuesday in France’s Aude region scorched in less than 24 hours at least 15,000 fechares ( 37,000 acres), an area larger than the size of Paris. 

In Spain, prolonged heatwaves since Sunday reaching43C have brought about multiple wildfires across the country. The Spanish Ministry of Health has reported well over 1,000 deaths in July due to extreme heat.

Portugal has been Europe’s worst affected country over the past decade. This year, wildfires have already burned more than 42,000 hectares ( 104,000 acres) of forest, scrub and agricultural land, eight times more than this period last year. The worst wildfire destruction has been in the last two weeks. At least 800 firefighters, backed by more than 280 water-straying vehicles and aircraft, have been battling massive blazes in the northern regions of Vila Real and Mondim de Basto. They are being assisted by a special team from Latvia.

Many of the Portuguese firefighters are exhausted after dedicating so many long days and nights to their very difficult and dangerous efforts. They 

have called on the government to send reinforcements. Foreign firefighters will be willing to help if not tied up with their own battles. 

A state of emergency has been in effect in the capital, Lisbon, on the west coast.  Elsewhere, more than 100 municipalities have been declared on maximum fire alerts 

As of Saturday evening, 55 rural fires were ablaze in mainland Portugal. 

ALZHEIMER PORTUGAL

Alzheimer Portugal is a nationwide organisation created more than 30 years ago specifically to promote the quality of life for people with dementia, as well as their families and carers.

It is there for you should you need their professional advice.

Alzheimer Portugal actively participates with its European and worldwide partners to gather and disseminate the latest information about dementia.

Website:

https://alzheimerportugal.org

Email:

info@alzheimerportugal.org

Phone Contacts:

Lisbon: +351 21 361 04 60

Faro: 289 803 747

Portimão: 965 276 690

Lagoa: 965 276 690

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MADRUGADA

This unique Algarve organisation provides a home-based, end-of-life palliative nursing care service for people wishing to spend their final days professionally cared for in their own home.

Established in 2009, they are now renowned for the excellence of palliative care, which is provided free of charge.

Based in Praia da Luz in the western Algarve, their specialist clinical teams work extensively to help people, and those important to them, manage the challenges of life-limiting illnesses through counselling, therapeutic and creative activities, complementary therapies, advice, and education.

For more information:

Call: +351 282 761 375

Email: admin@madrugada-portugal.com

The more donations they receive, the more their specialist volunteers are able to care for the community.

WIDESPREAD WILDFIRES RAGING

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.

 

 

 

FOOTPRINTS FOUND OF AN ANCIENT HUMAN SPECIES

New evidence has emerged of an ancient species of humans – Neanderthals – having lived in the Algarve about 78,000 years ago.

So-called ‘modern humans’, first existed at the same time as Neanderthals, a closely related species that inhabited Africa around 500,000 years ago before migrating to both Asia and Europe. When Homo sapiens eventually made similar migrations, some interbreeding occurred before Neanderthals died out about 40,000 years ago.

The causes of their extinction are thought to include violence and the spread of modern human diseases from which Neanderthals had no immunity.

 

Today, a small number of people of European or Asian descent still carry traces of Neanderthal DNA. Recent findings in the Algarve hint that some Portuguese people may share this genetic legacy.

 

A couple of geological researchers, Carlos Neto de Carvalho and his wife, Yilhu Zhang, have found a series of Neanderthal footprints embedded in sandstone rocks from collapsed cliffs on the beautiful Monte Clérigo beach near Aljezur on the Algarve’s west coast.

It has been reported that the couple brought colleagues to photograph the site and discovered five fossilised tracks comprising 26 footprints of an adult male and two children, one of whom appears tp have been  just a toddler.

 

The footprints were preserved in what were once steep sand dunes, now fossilised into stone, sloping to and away from the shore. Their orientation suggests the family were foraging for food such as shellfish, moving between the beach and the dunes. 

The footprints were not an easy find. “We were almost trapped by the sudden rise of the tide and needed to swim and climb a 15-metre, nearly vertical cliff with all our gear,” said Neto de Carvalho.

 

A single fossilised Neanderthal footprint, thought to be 82,000 years old had been previously found not far away at Praia do Telheiro, close to Sagres.

 

“The fossil record of hominin footprints, and especially those attributed to Neanderthals, is exceedingly rare,” as they are nearly identical to those of Homo sapiens, Neto de Carvalho and his colleagues wrote in the 3 July edition of the journal Nature Scientific Reports. 

The Monte Clérigo footprints were certainly those of Neanderthals, as modern humans did not exist in Europe 78,000 years ago. By then, though, foraging for shellfish in the Algarve may have been a normal daily activity for Neanderthals.

Only six sets of Neanderthal footprints had previously been discovered in the whole of Europe. With this new discovery, the total now stands at eight.

PORTUGAL URGED TO ACT ON ISRAEL SNIPER NAMED IN WAR CRIMES COMPLAINT

The Hind Rajab Foundation.announced this week that “no safe haven” will be available for Dani Adega, an Israeli “sniper”, who was spotted apparently seeking refuge In Lisbon. 

The Foundation has filed a formal legal complaint to the Portuguese authorities regarding Adega’s alleged participation in the Israeli campaign in Gaza, “which involved grave violations of international law, including targeted killings of civilians during a ceasefire, and the appropriation of civilian property for military use.”

The complaint was submitted by Portuguese human rights lawyer, Carmo Alfonso. It is said to be based on extensive documentation gather by the Foundation’s legal and investigative teams over recent months. 

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) is the legal arm of the March 30 Movement, a Brussels-based non-profit organisation formed last year. The HRF’s mission is to address and challenge what it describes as “Israel’s impunity concerning war crimes and human rights violations in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip” 

Dani Aldega has been identified a s a sniper with the 4th Battalion of the Israeli armed forces. He was photographed on a street in Lisbon street. 

Adega is said to have boasted on social medial about his lethal sniper activities He posted an image with the caption: “4 rounds, 0 misses.” 

His social media posts were during a declared ceasefire after more than 170 Palestinian civilians had been killed early this year  many of them by sniper fire. 

Adega’s posts indicate that he was operating inside civilian buildings in Gaza. He posed in an Israel army uniform with a rifle - AND  smiling. 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK: DRUGS

Another major Portuguese – Spanish operation against drug smugglers has this week resulted in 49 arrests and the seizure of seven tonnes of hashish,  650 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated value of 2.5 million euros, 11 firearms, 24 motor vehicles and 780,000 euros in cash. 

The joint operation also involved the search of many homes and the arrest of many inhabitants, in both Portugal and Spain. The home searches took place this week and also during an earlier part of the detailed investigation. 

This week’s special operation was not the first and will not be the last On June 6 , Portuguese and Spanish authorities supported by Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, arrested 50 people suspected of being part of the largest criminal network based in Spain’s Canary Islands. That operation involved law enforcement officers from Columbia, the UK and the United States. 

In March, the Portuguese navy intercepted a submarine carryong 6.5 tonnes of cocaine  about 925 kilometres south of the Azores. The submarine, which had departed from Brazil, was bound for an unknown destination in Iberia.

Without quite so much sophistication as the drug cartels in Latin America, the trafficking groups in southern Europe continue to do the best they can to get around the strong arm of the law. They are faced by increasingly stiff professional opposition For example, the Portuguese and Spanish authorities are well aware of the most significant drug smuggling group in this part of the world. It is known as the Galician Mafia. 

The Galician community is located in the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula. It is recognised as a key delivery point for the entry of illegal drugs from Columbia to Europe. The Galician Mafia are also understood o be deeply involved in money laundering, as well as various forms of corruption and violence. 

Not far down the Atlantic coast from Galicia, Portugal has become not only a transit place, but also a storage and distribution centre for the delivery of cocaine to other countries in Europe. That needs to be changed. 

Because of the apparent need for hallucinatory drugs by ordinary people, trafficking is a hugely profitable cultivation, manufacturing and distribution business worldwide. It should not be confused, however, with the totally legally and carefully monitored production of nedicinal marijoana in places in Portugal, including the Algarve 

DEATH OF FOOTBALL LEGEND

 

The football world in Portugal, England and elsewhere is in shock at the news of superstar Diogo Jota’s sudden death.

Diogo and his younger brother, André, died in a car crash on Thursday. The accident occurred when a tyre blew out and their £180,000 Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames while overtaking another car on a relatively quiet road in Northern Spain. 

They were heading from their home in the city of Porto to Liverpool, driving as doctors had advised Jota not to fly as a result of a recent lung-related surgery. In October last year, he suffered a rib injury while playing for Liverpool against Chelsea.

Jota, aged 28, was the father of three children, and had married just 11 days earlier to his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso.

Along with his family, the football world that so greatly admired him has been devastated. His Portuguese team captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, visibly shaken at the news, expressed “disbelief” as well as condolences.

While dedicated to playing his very best for his national and club teams, Jota was renowned as a humble man who maintained a smile on his face. He died at the peak of his footballing career.

IT’S HOT – AND GETTING HOTTER!

The weather in Portugal at the beginning of July has not only been hot, but also a bit odd.

Take Thursday morning, for example: the sky in the  central  Algarve was completely overcast, hinting at rain, and the temperature felt cool – if not cold. Yet, heat alerts have been issued in 12 regions across more than40 districts, including the Algarve, warning of maximum fire risk. The most affected municipalities are in the south of the country.

The Algarve has been experiencing peak temperatures well into the 30s, while some regions, such as the Alentejo, have had to contend with 40°C. The hottest temperature recorded so far this year in Portugal was 46.6°C (115.9°F) in June, in Moura, east of Lisbon.

What’s going on? Record-breaking heatwaves have forced schools to close across Europe. While Portugal and Spain have borne the brunt of the heat, German schools have also faced predictions of 40°C – too hot, according to Italian ice cream makers, for people to enjoy their products.

Heat-related deaths have been reported in France and elsewhere. The United Nations climate agency warns that heatwaves are expected to become more intense. Summer has barely begun.

Fortunately, temperatures generally start to drop after 6 p.m. Ice cream, reportedly, is best sold and enjoyed at around 25–26°C.

Drinking plenty of water is essential. Some people without adequate air conditioning have told us they manage to sleep at night by clutching bottles of ice-cold water next to their bodies in bed.