European countries are currently facing an intense heatwave that has disrupted daily life. According to recent reports, at least eight people have died in Spain, France, and Italy, while emergencies have been declared in multiple regions.
In Spain’s Catalonia province, a wildfire claimed two lives, while additional fatalities were reported in Cordoba and Extremadura. The situation is equally alarming in France, where two deaths have occurred due to extreme heat, and over 300 people required medical assistance.
In Italy, red alerts have been issued in 18 major cities, where two elderly citizens over the age of 60 could not survive the extreme heat. In Switzerland, due to an unusual rise in temperatures, the water temperature of a river increased to a level that forced a nuclear power plant to shut down temporarily.
Thousands of people in Turkey and Spain have been evacuated from wildfire-affected areas to safer locations. Governments in Italy, France, and Germany have also issued warnings to their citizens about severe upcoming weather storms.
Environmental experts and United Nations representatives have stated that these extreme weather conditions are a direct result of climate change. They attribute this disaster to rising greenhouse gas emissions, excessive fossil fuel use, and rampant deforestation.