Firefighter 'morale remains high' despite heatwave coming to France's blazing southwest
In the southwest of France, temperatures are expected to go over 40 degree celsius just as firefighters have managed to stabilise the mass blazes in the forests of the Gironde region.
They are expecting the heatwave to set fires going again, but "morale remains high", says the broadcaster's Carys Garland, as firefighters are first and foremost committed to protecting local communities.
Spain government lifts evacuation order for all affected towns in Avila province
Ukraine ready to help France battle wildfires, Zelensky says
Ukraine is ready to help France tackle the severe wildfires sweeping across the country, including by providing specialists experienced in dealing with such disasters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy said on X that he had spoken by phone with Macron to brief him on his talks on Tuesday at the White House and in the US Senate about the ongoing conflict with Russia.
During the call, Macron also raised the issue of the wildfires in France, Zelensky said. “Ukraine is always ready to help those who have supported us throughout these years of fighting against Russian aggression,” he said.
Iraq presidency denounces US-Saudi strikes as 'blatant violation'
🎥 'Climate change is really here: We should seize this crisis moment to create a new momentum'
the broadcaster spoke with Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a climate scientist and professor at the Universities of Louvain and Liège in Belgium.
He warned that Europe's latest heatwave is further evidence of a structural transformation of the continent's climate.
Despite this, he said, humanity must not give in to either fatalism or complacency.
Watch the full interview by clicking on the player below.
🎥 Heatwave comes into southwest of France as firefighters keep battling blaze
The huge fire raging in France's southwest has stabilised, according to French officials, with authorities letting nearly 60,000 evacuees return to their homes.
Now, firefighters are trying to contain the fires as the fourth heatwave of the year comes in, set to make the firefighting mission harder.
the broadcaster's Carys Garland is on a convoy with firefighters and tells us about the situation on the ground.
Next 12 hours will be 'decisive' for ending Madrid region fire, Spanish PM Sanchez says
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday that efforts to extinguish a major wildfire near Madrid were progressing "favourably" and the next 12 hours would be "decisive".
"Things are progressing favourably, with the greatest of caution," Sanchez told reporters in televised comments at a command centre near the fire zone. "I believe the next 12 hours will be very important – they will be decisive for the work of consolidating the work that the civil protection service has done."
Tens of thousands of Spanish evacuees return home
Thousands of people evacuated in Spain during massive wildfires started to return home on Wednesday as the government said they were working to contain some of the worst forest fires in the country's modern history.
Late on Tuesday, the government had lifted evacuation orders on more than a dozen municipalities in the Madrid and Avila areas, the epicentre of wildfires that had forced tens of thousands to be displaced.
"24,000 evacuated individuals have been able to return to their homes, and another 20,000 have been released from confinement in the Community of Madrid," government delegate Francisco Martin Aguirre said on X late Tuesday.
"Work continues to consolidate the progress made throughout the day in tackling the fire. The return of evacuees is proceeding without incident."
Wildfire response must evolve to keep pace with climate change, EU says
The European Union's response to wildfires needs more funding, greater focus on forest management and enhanced education about fire risk as the climate changes, the head of the bloc's crisis response said.
"Climate change is accelerating. So our response must evolve just as quickly," Hadja Lahbib, the EU's Crisis Management Commissioner, told Reuters. "We must prepare for risks before disasters strike, and not simply react afterwards."
Lahbib said it was not enough to just purchase more firefighting equipment, and that countries should also be investing more of their EU funding in forest management practices that reduce wildfire risk, and should better educate citizens on "what behaviour they absolutely must avoid", to reduce fire risk.
Around 90 percent of wildfires are started by human activities, such as campfires or discarded cigarettes.
Wildfire in southwest France 'still stable', regional authorities say
The massive wildfire that has burned some 42,000 hectares in France's southwest Gironde region over the past week is "still stable" this morning after a second "quiet" night, according to the department's prefecture.
The prefecture said that several flare-ups had been quickly put out.
"The area burned has not changed," the prefecture said, while stressing that weather conditions including rising temperatures and dry winds remain "unfavourable" on Wednesday.
Yesterday's key developments:
- Some 2,750 firefighters battled the massive wildfire in France's southwest Gironde region.
- French authorities ordered the evacuation of 4,000 people from tourist sites on the Atlantic coast.
- An 'orange' heatwave alert was issued for 16 departments.
(the broadcaster with AFP, AP and Reuters)
