Tag: heat

Thousands evacuated as California wildfire grows

Midpines, United States | AFP by David McNew with Michael Mathes in Washington A fierce California wildfire expanded Sunday, burning several thousand acres and forcing evacuations as tens of millions of Americans sweltered through scorching heat. More than 2,000 firefighters backed by 17 helicopters have been deployed against the Oak Fire, which broke out Friday near Yosemite National Park, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a report. But two […]

China swelters under record heat

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Cities across China were on red alert for heatwaves on Monday, as tens of millions of people were warned to stay indoors and record temperatures strained energy supply. Swathes of the planet have been hit by extreme and deadly heatwaves in recent months, from Western Europe in July to India in March to April. Scientists say the extreme weather has become more frequent due to climate change, and will likely grow […]

Thousands evacuated as California wildfire grows

by David McNew with Michael Mathes in Washington Agence France-Presse MIDPINES, United States (AFP) — A fierce California wildfire expanded Sunday, burning several thousand acres and forcing evacuations as tens of millions of Americans sweltered through scorching heat. More than 2,000 firefighters backed by 17 helicopters have been deployed against the Oak Fire, which broke out Friday near Yosemite National Park, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a report. […]

Call for max working temperature cap after EU heatwave deaths

by Patrick Galey Agence France-Press PARIS, France (AFP) — Trade unions called Monday for the European Commission to impose maximum temperature limits for outdoor workers, after three people died while on shift in Madrid during last week’s withering heatwave. While a handful of member states have legislation limiting working hours in excessive heat, the thresholds vary and many nations have no nationwide heat limits. According to research by the polling agency Eurofound, 23 percent of […]

WHO says heatwave caused 1,700 deaths in Spain, Portugal

Copenhagen, Denmark | AFP The World Health Organization’s European office on Friday said the heatwave baking Europe has caused over 1,700 deaths on the Iberian peninsula alone, calling for joint action to tackle climate change. “Heat kills. Over the past decades, hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of extreme heat during extended heatwaves, often with simultaneous wildfires,” WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement. “This year, we […]

Italy heatwave peaks with 16 cities on red alert as Tuscany burns

Rome, Italy | AFP Italy faced the hottest day of the current heatwave Friday with red extreme heat warnings issued for 16 cities across the country, as firefighters battled blazes up and down the country. Worst hit is expected to be Milan in the north with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), while Bologna to its south and the capital Rome could hit 39 degrees, according to official government estimates. Other major cities under […]

UK breaches 40C for first time, heat records tumble in France

by Joe JACKSON with AFP Europe bureaus Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A punishing heatwave fuelling ferocious wildfires in western Europe pushed temperatures in Britain over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on Tuesday and regional heat records tumbled elsewhere. Grassland fires erupted on the edge of London, with one forcing the evacuation of 14 people as farm buildings, houses and garages were consumed by the flames. “I was […]

France braces for record temperatures

PARIS, France (AFP) — France was bracing Monday for the peak of the heatwave gripping the country, with crushing temperatures expected from the Mediterranean as far up as Brittany in the northwest. Forecasters have put 15 departments across the country on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures, including Gironde in the southwest where forest fires have already wrought havoc. In the Landes forest, in the southwest Aquitaine region, temperatures “will be above 42 […]

Power cuts, forest fires in South Asia heatwave; New Delhi hits 43 degrees Celsius

  by Faisal Satti with Baldev S Chauhan in Shimla, India Agence France Presse LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) — Power outages compounded the misery of millions of people wilting in a heatwave across India and Pakistan on Friday, with experts blaming climate change for an early onset of roasting summer temperatures. In the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh hundreds of forest fires have broken out in recent weeks, eating up tinder-dry pine forests including around […]

Record heat, forest fires in Colombia’s Amazon in January

January of this year was the hottest month in the Colombian Amazon in a decade, leading to an increase in forest fires in the southeastern region and very likely impacting air quality in the capital Bogota, according to an Environment Ministry report seen by AFP Friday. It said the month of January recorded the “highest hot spot values in the last 10 years” in the Colombian Amazon. The phenomenon occurs, the ministry said, when the […]

Last nine years all among 10 hottest-ever: NOAA

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The nine years spanning 2013-2021 all rank among the 10 hottest on record, according to an annual report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published Thursday, the latest data underscoring the global climate crisis. For 2021, the average temperature across global surfaces was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average, making the year the sixth-hottest in the overall record, which goes back to […]

NBA postpones Heat-Spurs as Miami unable to field minimum eight players

The Miami Heat’s NBA game against the San Antonio Spurs scheduled for Wednesday was postponed as Covid concerns and injuries left Miami without the minimum eight available players. Three more Heat players entered the league’s Covid health and safety protocols on Wednesday, with Gabe Vincent, P.J. Tucker and Zylan Cheatham joining Kyle Lowry, Udonis Haslem and Max Strus on the coronavirus absentee list. The Heat were already missing Bam Adebayo with a thumb injury as […]