News of july 28th, xinhua news agency, rome
Xinhua news agency journalist yin yooting
Owing to continued high temperatures, strong winds and prolonged drought, wildfires have recently occurred in southern europe and fire and emergency services have been fully engaged in fire suppression operations. Experts warned that the mediterranean region would face a more frequent and extreme fire season in the future as climate change intensified。
There are many mountain fires in portugal. Mountain fires in the potalegra region were not contained until late 28 days; the fires in the peneda-jeresh national park were continuing to spread, and the authorities had mobilized hundreds of firefighters, multiple fire trucks and helicopters from spain to fight the fires, although fighting was difficult because of the rugged terrain and strong wind。
The high fire risk warning issued by the portuguese oceanic and atmospheric research institute indicated that much of the northern and central parts of the country were at a “high” fire risk level. With the exception of lisbon, leilia and aveiro, much of the portuguese territory is covered by yellow weather warnings. In the coming days, the country will continue to dry hot and low-rained weather, and the fire situation remains critical。
In greece, temperatures have recently reached 45. 8 degrees celsius, and drought and strong winds have further contributed to the spread of the fire. More than 50 wildfires have been recorded throughout greece in the past week, and many villages and towns have been forced to evacuate, causing serious damage to houses and agricultural lands. In the face of the disaster, the greek government had launched the european union civil protection mechanism and requested international assistance. Countries such as italy and the czech republic have sent fire extinguishers and personnel, six firefighters were injured during the rescue and some fire vehicles were damaged。
Italy is also experiencing severe wildfires in many parts of the country, particularly in the sicily island. Local temperatures exceed 40 degrees celsius. Some 30 families were evacuated and roads and infrastructure were damaged. According to experts, italy has experienced a high level of wildfires and increased intensity in the summers in recent years, and drought and high temperatures have been the key causes of more fires。
There are currently more than 260 active fires in bulgaria, the worst in the south-west in the strumiani mountains. In coordination with the eu civil protection mechanism, fire extinguishers from france, slovakia and hungary have arrived and swedish and czech aircraft are on their way。
The deputy minister of the interior of bulgaria, todorov, stated that the current fire had eased slightly, but that high temperatures continued to hinder fire-fighting efforts. Meteorological agencies predict that the local maximum temperature will remain between 30 and 41 degrees celsius。
The fire around trebinje, the southern city of bosnia and herzegovina, has lasted three weeks, and has finally been brought under control in recent days under heavy rainfall. The spilling of 650,000 litres by local helicopters has curbed the spread of the fire. The fire once approached the city, which was covered with smoke, affecting the lives of the inhabitants. As the rain continues, the fire stabilizes。
The number of fires in croatia this year is 501 more than in the same period last year, but thanks to rapid and efficient emergency response, the area burned has been reduced by almost half. According to the national fire commander-in-chief, tucakovic, in addition to the wild areas, there are frequent fires in some industrial facilities, with an average of 24 to 30 fires reported daily and a complex control situation。
Marcello mireta, expert from the italian institute of atmospheric sciences and climate, warned that without a systematic long-term response, the mediterranean region would continue to face a high and extreme fire season in the future. There was general agreement among experts that the current high level of fire was closely linked to global warming and required national vigilance。
At present, relief operations in southern europe are still intense. In the face of the grave situation, the authorities called on the population to increase its awareness of fire and to avoid human-induced fires. (concluded)
