France, Spain Brace for 'Three Tough Days' as Heatwave Returns
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- France and Spain are on high alert as the fourth heatwave of the summer complicates efforts against ongoing wildfires, with approximately 330,000 people evacuated or confined since last week.
- Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska warned of 'three very tough days' ahead with rising temperatures and stronger winds, while declaring the Sierra Oeste fire near Madrid 'technically stabilised.'
- Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez called the next 12 hours 'decisive' for the large wildfire burning near Madrid.
- France's blazes are the country's worst wildfires since 1949, with firefighting aircraft dropping seawater on a major flare-up near Lanton north of Bordeaux as temperatures approach 40C.
- Two firefighters died battling a forest fire on Greece's Crete island in the Rethymno region, prompting evacuation of five villages and deployment of more than 100 firefighters.
- European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said 'European solidarity knows no limit,' noting Romania and Greece are extending their missions and Poland will join from Saturday.
- Wildfire smoke is producing large areas of 'very' to 'extremely' poor air quality across Spain and near Bordeaux, while Hungary's Paks nuclear plant is shutting one of four reactors due to record-low Danube water levels needed for cooling.
Why it matters: France's worst wildfires since 1949 and Spain's 'three tough days' warning come as Europe faces its fourth heatwave of summer, with the crisis now extending beyond forests to critical infrastructure — Hungary's Paks nuclear plant is shutting a reactor because the Danube is too low to supply cooling water.
