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Europe heatwave: Deadly wildfires spread in Mediterranean
![Europe heatwave: Deadly wildfires spread in Mediterranean]()
Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal, Spain and southwestern France Europe heatwave: Deadly wildfires spread in Mediterranean
Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to carbon emissions.
Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal, Spain and southwestern France, in the grip of a heatwave that shows no sign of easing.
In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border.
Fires are ravaging areas of France's Gironde region, where more than 12,000 people have been evacuated.
In southern Spain, near the Costa del Sol, about 2,300 people had to flee a wildfire spreading in the Mijas hills.
Holidaymakers on the beach in Torremolinos saw big plumes of smoke rising in the hills, where several aircraft were tackling the blaze.
Meanwhile, one local resident described the forest fires near France's south-west Atlantic coast as feeling "post-apocalyptic".
Since Tuesday, temperatures have soared to 47C in Portugal and above 40C in Spain, leaving the countryside bone dry and fuelling the fires. More than 300 people have died from the heat in both countries, Spain's Efe news agency reports.
