Soaring temperatures across Europe have claimed the lives of at least 1,500 people, according to authorities, as the searing heat sees wildfires raging across the continent.
Record temperatures across Europe have claimed the lives of at least 1,500 people, with train tracks buckling and fires raging across the continent.The World Meteorological Organization believes Europe's heatwave may have peaked but temperatures could remain above average for another weekPortugal authorities have reported more than 1,000 heat-related deaths while estimates from the Carlos III Health Institute place Portugal's death toll at 510.
Average July temperatures in the UK range from a daily high of 21C to a night-time low of 12C, and few homes or small businesses have air conditioning. London-based fire safety expert Stephen Mackenzie told ABC NewsRadio the London Fire Service had been deployed to "10 or more" simultaneous bushfires, with hundreds of firefighters on the ground.He said the UK was now facing major bushfires and structural fires in whole neighbourhoods, which was "almost unheard of in the UK"."We certainly don't see whole neighbourhoods being wiped off the street.
He said local communities were still in shock over the fire damage, and he hoped the extent of the disaster would push the government to re-evaluate its current wildlife strategy and better prepare for next time. "The question that everybody is asking looking ahead is, 'When is this going to end?'" Robert Stefanski, chief of applied climate services at the WMO, said.
"Portugal … is among one of the areas of the globe that could be [more] affected by extreme heat," she said.A boy cools off in a fountain in Brussels.
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