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WEATHER

Spain and Portugal battle wildfires amid heatwave alerts

Hundreds of firefighters were on Tuesday battling a wildfire that has burned for four days in Portugal, which like neighbouring Spain is sweltering in a heatwave that has triggered widespread weather alerts.

Published: 8 August 2023 16:10 CEST
Spain and Portugal battle wildfires amid heatwave alerts
Firefighters battle a wildfire in Carrascal, Proenca a Nova on August 6, 2023. More than 1,000 firefighters battled a wildfire in central Portugal today as officials warned that thousands of hectares were at risk amid soaring temperatures across the country. (Photo by Patricia DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)

The Iberian Peninsula is bearing the brunt of climate change in Europe, witnessing increasingly intense heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.

The temperature rose to 46.4 degrees Celsius (115.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in Santarem, central Portugal, on Monday – a record for 2023 — according to provisional data from the meteorological office.

Some areas of Portugal were forecasts to hit 40C on Tuesday.

The met office in Spain said the heat there was expected to top 44C on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is predicted to be the fiercest day of this heatwave, the third this year.

On Tuesday, around 900 firefighters backed by 10 water-bomber planes were battling a blaze that has already burned thousands of hectares in Odemira, southwestern Portugal, near the southern tourist mecca of the Algarve.

Portugal’s civil protection authority said the perimeter of the wildfire had been “stabilised” overnight on Monday but there were still “two critical points” that required “a lot of effort”.

Some 20 inland villages and a number of rural tourist sites were evacuated on Monday, bringing the number displaced since Saturday to 1,500.

Around 40 people, including 28 fire officers, have been given emergency medical treatment.

A separate wildfire that has already destroyed around 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) in Leiria, central Portugal, calmed somewhat overnight on Monday.

Across the country, nearly 2,800 firefighters and 16 water-bombers were in action on Tuesday.

Weather warnings remained in place in both Portugal and Spain.

Much of the southern half of Spain was on orange alert on Tuesday.

The Spanish met office (AEMET) issued maximum red alerts for parts of Andalusia in the south, the Madrid region in the centre and the Basque Country in the far north.

More than 1,000 hectares of land were destroyed by flames in Spain over the weekend.

A fourth large wildfire broke out on Monday in Extremadura, central Spain, near the border with Portugal. Firefighters were unable to contain it overnight.

Another fire caused by fireworks broke out in Calpe in Alicante province on Sunday, destroying the site of the town’s Roman baths. 

In total, wildfires have destroyed 100,000 hectares of land across the Iberian Peninsula this year, according to preliminary estimates. This is on top of the record 400,000 hectares destroyed last year.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

The parts of Málaga most affected by rising sea levels

Spanish climate experts have warned of a significant rise in sea level in several municipalities within the province of Málaga, including the Vélez-Málaga and Guadalmar areas.

Published: 6 June 2024 10:26 CEST
The parts of Málaga most affected by rising sea levels

According to a recent report in the Official State Bulletin (BOE), sea level rises will be expected across the Andalusian province, but the areas around Vélez-Málaga and Guadalmar will be subject to severe increases by 2070. 

This comes after an April report by NASA found that sea levels have risen by five centimetres in Málaga province in the last three years and will rise by 50 centimetres by 2090.

The local government has already initiated several actions to try and alleviate the situation in Málaga and mitigate intense flooding.

According to expert predictions and government studies carried out between 1957 and 2022, coastal erosion has already begun and in the future, the coastline will begin where urbanisations, beach bars and restaurants currently stand.

This includes the hotel Parador del Campo de Golf de Málaga, as well as a wastewater pumping station.

Projected sea level increase in Málaga province in the next decades. Graph: NASA

The areas previously declared as flood-prone have also been updated and modified according to new data available.

READ ALSO: The Spanish cities that will be most affected by rising sea levels

The municipality of Vélez-Málaga, capital of the Axarquía region of quaint white villages, will be one of the worst-affected places, particularly around Torre del Mar and Caleta de Vélez.

Experts say that this problem has been going on for decades and will only get worse. Since 1957, the municipality has lost a total of 222,107 square metres of sand, due to the increase in storms derived from climate change.

From 2020, with a peak in 2022, the area also experienced an extreme drought, meaning that contributions of river sediments on the beaches are almost non-existent. If this trend continues, and if conditions do not change, it’s estimated that in 10 and 20 years, the stretch of coast on the left bank of the Vélez River will experience the greatest regression, with a maximum of 40 metres at 10 years and 70 metres at 20 years.

READ ALSO: Why are Barcelona’s beaches disappearing?

In Guadalmar, the coastline is expected to advance between 80 and 226 metres, due to the increase in sea level by 31 centimetres, according to a study carried out by Tragsatec, a public engineering group. As a consequence, researchers say that the waves are changing and more storms are eroding the beaches.

A significant portion of this coastline has already been lost to the sea this century, but since 2016 the regression of the coast has been even greater. In total, 223,495 square metres of beach have been lost in almost 70 years.

It is estimated that, if conditions do not change, in 10 to 20 years, the stretch of coast between San Julián beach and the golf course will see the greatest regression.

READ ALSO – MAP: The parts of Spain that are most and least affected by global warming

In order to deal with this issue, the Coastal Regulation has declared that no new title of occupation in the maritime-terrestrial public domain may be granted on land deemed to be at serious risk.

Existing constructions will be maintained as long as the sea does not reach them or there is a risk that it will. On land declared to be in a situation of serious regression, the government may carry out protection, conservation or restoration. For this, it may impose a special tax on people who benefit from these works.

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