Hello, A deadly heat wave has swept across Europe and the Mediterranean basin, claiming a total of eight lives in Spain, France and Italy whilst thousands flee wildfires in Greece and Turkey. Four people died in Spain, two in France and two in Italy as an early summer heat wave continues to grip much of Europe this week, triggering health alerts and forest fires and forcing the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant. Spanish officials said a wildfire in Catalonia had killed two people a day earlier, and authorities reported heat wave-linked deaths also in Extremadura and Cordoba. France's energy minister reported two deaths linked to the heat, with 300 others taken to hospital. Two men over the age of 60 died from the heat in separate incidents on the beach in the Italian island of Sardinia, ANSA news agency reported. Italy issued red alerts for 18 cities, while in Germany temperatures were forecast to peak at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas, making it the hottest day of the year. Also on my radar today: |
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Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis |
Wildfires in Greece, Spain, Turkey and France |
Hundreds of firefighters battled a blaze on Crete Island on Thursday, which burnt swathes of forest and olive groves and forced the evacuation of over 1,000 people, officials said, underscoring the region's vulnerability to destructive wildfires. At least 230 firefighters, along with 46 engines and helicopters, were deployed to contain the conflagration, which broke out a day earlier near Ierapetra town on the southeastern coast of Greece's largest island. Over in Spain, a blaze in Torrefeta, a region in Catalonia, broke out in a farming area on Tuesday afternoon and killed two people, destroyed several farms, and affected an area stretching for around 40 km (25 miles), firefighters said. Meanwhile, firefighters battled wildfires in Turkey and France on Monday and more than 50,000 people were evacuated. |
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Closing schools and nuclear reactors |
Swiss utility Axpo shut down one reactor unit at the Beznau nuclear power plant and halved output at another on Tuesday because of high river water temperature In France, nearly 1,900 schools were closed, up from around 200 on Monday. The heat was set to peak in France on Tuesday at 40-41 C in some areas, weather forecaster Meteo France said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower was closed, disappointing scores of visitors. Outdoor work was banned in some Italian regions during the hottest hours of the day as Italy issued heat wave red alerts for 17 cities, including Milan and Rome. | What the scientists are saying |
Europe is heating up at twice the global average speed and is the world's fastest-warming continent, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service has said. "What is exceptional ... but not unprecedented is the time of year," said World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis. Europe was experiencing extreme heat episodes "which normally we would see later on in the summer," she said. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are a cause of climate change, with deforestation and industrial practices being other contributing factors. Last year was the planet's hottest on record. "We keep hearing about climate change. I think we're definitely feeling it now," said Omar Bah, a rental company worker in London, where temperatures hit 32 C. The Mediterranean Sea hit a record 30 C off Spain, six degrees above the seasonal average, Spanish weather forecaster AEMET said, as a high pressure system trapped hot air above Europe - a phenomenon known as a heat dome. |
Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed GHF, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo |
- Gaza aid: More than 170 non-governmental organizations called for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.- and Israeli-backed food aid distribution scheme in Gaza, to be dismantled over concerns it is putting civilians at risk of death and injury. More than 500 people have been killed in mass shootings near aid distribution centres or transport routes guarded by Israeli forces since the GHF started operating in late May, according to medical authorities in Gaza.
- USAID rape kits scrapped: U.S. President Donald Trump's administration cancelled a major contract to supply emergency kits for rape survivors in Congo as violence surged in the east this year after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels swept across that part of the country in January, the United Nations and aid groups said. The United Nations has said that some 67,000 incidences of rape have been recorded since January, with many more likely going unreported. Reuters spoke to officials at the U.N. and four other aid groups that treat rape survivors in eastern Congo for this story. Click here for the full report.
- LA wildfire aftermath: Six months after the wildfires that devastated the eastern and western flanks of Los Angeles, Terry Kilgore's recreational vehicle solution is one way victims are coping as the arduous rebuilding effort goes on. The fires killed 22 people, destroyed nearly 12,000 homes and caused as much as $53.8 billion in property damage, according to a report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
- EU sustainability rules: More than 100 companies, investors and environmental campaigners warned against rolling back European sustainability rules that they said support economic growth, as the EU negotiates cuts to the rules to reduce costs for local industries. The group of 29 businesses and 80 investors and financial institutions said in a statement that the rules were "conducive to competitiveness and growth, as well as long-term value creation and subsequent returns for investors", rather than hindering growth.
- US court ruling on EPA: Speaking of rolling back sustainability rules, the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, delivered setbacks to environmental interests in a series of recent rulings including by further restricting the Environmental Protection Agency's authority and relaxing requirements for environmental impact studies for proposed projects. The Supreme Court has taken a skeptical view toward broad authority for federal regulatory agencies and has restricted the powers of the EPA in some important rulings in recent years. Click here for the full Reuters story on the cases and click here to keep up with all the latest legal news.
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The United States Senate passed a revised version of U.S. President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" that was more positive for wind power compared to an earlier version. In the Senate's final version, wind and solar projects will be able to use the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits if they begin construction before 2026. A previous version was based on when the projects enter service. Shares in European renewable energy companies rose on Wednesday with shares of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas jumping around 10%, while its German peer Nordex rose 2%. Vestas and other renewable energy stocks in Europe have been sensitive to the news around the bill this year. Click here for the full Reuters story on the bill's impact on renewables. |
How concrete, asphalt and urban heat islands add to the misery of heat waves. REUTERS GRAPHICS/ Jon McClure, Lisa Shumaker |
We continue to explore the dangers of extreme heat in today's spotlight as the Reuters graphics team demonstrates the effects of concrete, asphalt and urban heat islands adding to the misery of heat waves in a detailed report. During heat waves, a substantial amount of the sun's energy is absorbed and reflected by surfaces exposed to its rays, leading to their temperatures increasing significantly. These warm surfaces then transfer their heat to the surrounding air, increasing the overall air temperature. While some permeable and moist surfaces, like grass or soil, absorb less heat, other construction materials like asphalt or concrete are capable of absorbing as much as 95% of the sun's energy, which is then radiated back into the surrounding atmosphere. Click here to check out the full graphic analysis. |
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Sustainable Switch was edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise. |
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