Firefighters across Europe were battling multiple wildfires on Friday as record-breaking heat and severe drought turned large parts of the continent into tinderboxes, forcing thousands of people to evacuate and putting homes, forests and critical infrastructure at risk. Officials have linked the extreme temperatures to human-caused climate change, a challenge that’s proving especially difficult for countries historically accustomed to milder summers and with limited access to air conditioning.
France has been among the hardest hit, currently experiencing its driest year on record. A new wildfire tore through woodland in the Landes region overnight, forcing more than 500 people to leave their homes in Luglon, with hundreds of firefighters deployed to contain the blaze. Other fires have broken out in northern France and Brittany — regions typically known for cooler, wetter weather. The devastation follows a massive blaze near Bordeaux last month that destroyed large areas of forest and displaced around 250,000 people.
The heat and drought have also disrupted France’s nuclear power sector. Utility EDF confirmed six reactors were shut down in recent days due to the extreme conditions, while jellyfish swarms along the English Channel coast affected operations at another plant. EDF maintained that the shutdowns had only a limited impact on electricity production and posed no safety risk to the reactors.
In the UK, a major wildfire that began Thursday in Stourbridge, central England, spread into residential areas, destroying an estimated 20 to 30 homes, according to local lawmaker Cat Eccles. Nineteen people and six firefighters were hospitalised for smoke inhalation and other injuries from wildfires across the West Midlands. The Met Office recorded a temperature of 38.1°C in west London on Thursday — Britain’s hottest day of the year — though conditions eased slightly on Friday.
Spain has also been affected, as the wildfire crisis continues to strain firefighting resources across the continent.