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WILDFIRES

Spain PM hopes Tenerife wildfire will stabilise ‘in coming days’

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Monday he hoped a wildfire that has forced thousands of people to evacuate on the holiday island of Tenerife will be stabilised "in the coming days".

Published: 21 August 2023 15:29 CEST
Spain PM hopes Tenerife wildfire will stabilise 'in coming days'
Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, hopes Tenerife fire will be over soon. Photo: DESIREE MARTIN / AFP

The blaze broke out late Tuesday in a mountainous northeastern area, quickly morphing into the Canary Islands’ biggest-ever wildfire.

“We hope the weather will help us to declare the fire as stabilised in the coming hours, coming days. May the weather be on our side,” Sánchez told reporters during a visit to the island.

So far, the fire, which now has a perimeter of around 90 kilometres (55 miles), has burned through nearly 41,000 hectares (28,700 acres) of land, which is about 6.5 percent of Tenerife’s overall surface area, the regional government said.

It has forced more than 12,000 people to flee their homes, it added.

Sánchez said his government would classify the areas affected by the blaze as disaster zones, a move which will trigger emergency subsidies and other support measures.

“The government of Spain is going to get as involved in the work of reconstruction as it is now with the task of civil protection,” he said in the village of Arafo which has been affected by the blaze.

READ ALSO: Are Spain’s wildfires a risk to people’s health?

Some 600 firefighters and soldiers backed by 22 water-dropping aircraft were battling the wildfire, which is affecting 12 municipalities.

Local authorities said cooler temperatures and weaker overnight winds had helped firefighters make gains in their battle against the blaze.

“The worst is behind us,” the Canary Islands’ regional leader Fernando Clavijo said on Monday morning during an interview with Spanish public radio.

‘Endangered lives’

The fire appears to have been started deliberately, he said, adding he hoped Spain’s Guardia Civil police force will be able to arrest the “raving lunatics” responsible.

“Not only do they put in danger the natural heritage of a marvellous island, they also endangered the lives of hundreds of people,” he added.

Contacted by AFP, the local Guardia Civil did not confirm the theory that the fire was caused intentionally.

“The investigation is continuing, it is far too early to know. There is a high probability that it was provoked, but we cannot rule out any line of investigation for the moment,” a Guardia Civil spokeswoman said.

The blaze broke out after the archipelago suffered a heatwave that left many areas tinder dry.

The Canary Islands typically experience spring-like temperatures all year but the mercury soared to hit 40C in some parts.

The seven-island archipelago is located off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain. At their nearest point, the islands are 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Morocco.

As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned that heat waves will become more frequent and intense.

Last year, Spain suffered more than 500 blazes that destroyed more than 300,000 hectares, making it the worst-hit country in Europe, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

So far this year, it has had 340 fires, which have ravaged almost 76,000 hectares, EFFIS figures show. 

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CLIMATE CRISIS

No winter snow on Spain’s Teide for first time in 108 years

Tenerife’s Mount Teide, the highest peak in Spain, has not had any snowfall during the winter months for the first time in over a century, after the Canary Islands experienced their hottest January and February since records began.

Published: 15 March 2024 14:52 CET
No winter snow on Spain's Teide for first time in 108 years

Anyone who has visited Tenerife in the Canaries will be familiar with the majestic Mount Teide, a 3,715-metre-high dormant volcano that dominates the island’s varied landscape.

Despite the archipelago’s traditionally mild weather during winter, such is the altitude of El Teide that during periods of rainfall in the archipelago the mercury plummets below zero and the volcano and surrounding national park are covered in snow. 

Not this winter however, not once during the period running from December 1st to February 29th has the iconic symbol of Tenerife been snow-capped, the first time it’s happened in 108 years. 

Climate change deniers on the islands have been quick to respond that there was some snow on Teide in November, but this was only on the tip and lasted a couple of days as the mercury then reached abnormal temperatures above 30C.

This is no normal winter for the so-called fortunate islands, having recorded the hottest January and February temperatures on record, 2.5C above the average winter temperature of 17.7C.

There has also only been 12 days over the winter months without calima, sand that blows over from the nearby Sahara desert creating a haze that makes it harder to breathe. 

READ ALSO: What is ‘calima’ and is it bad for you?

In the easterly Canary island of Fuerteventura, the municipality of La Oliva recorded a record 31.7C on January 16th.

There’s also been far less rain than usual, a worrying situation given that Tenerife’s government recently declared a drought emergency with a view to introducing water restrictions before the drier hotter summer. 

“There has been an accumulated rainfall of 36 litres per square metre (during winter), that’s only 28 percent of the expected precipitation for this period,” state meteorologist David Suárez told journalists.

This drier and hotter climate largely explained why wildfires destroyed huge parts of Tenerife’s dense forested areas in August of 2023, the worst fires in forty years.

“We’re facing one of the driest winters in recent history and ensuring the water supply for citizens and for Tenerife’s countryside is an essential issue that cannot have political preferences,” Cabildo president Rosa Dávila told the press about the island’s drought plans.

It’s a worrying scenario for Tenerife and the 7 other islands that form part of this Atlantic archipelago off the coast of Western Sahara. 

Their geographical location and the trade winds that sweep through them used to ensure that they were a refuge during the bitter cold winter months and scorching summer in the distant European continent, which explains why tourism has long been the single most important industry in the Canaries.

This pleasant mild weather is now at risk, and the absence of winter snow on El Teide is the latest example of how climate change is transforming weather patterns in the Canaries and Spain as a whole. 

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