Wildfires ravage Portuguese region loved by British holidaymakers

22 July 2024, 18:56 | Updated: 22 July 2024, 18:59

Wildfires have ripped through a popular Portuguese tourist location beloved by British holidaymakers.

Cascais, near the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, was ravaged by fires this weekend after dry and windy combined to cause a “major” blaze.

Almost 250 firefighters, alongside 69 vehicles, were deployed on Monday to combat the blaze.

This came after over 300 firefighters battled to stop the spread of a wildfire in the region on Sunday.

Speaking on Sunday evening, the president of Cascais City Council, Carlos Carreiras said: “The fire is not yet under control, but it is on its way to being under control.

“The variable that we do not control is the wind that changes direction,” he said.

“The means on the ground, whether at aerial level, at ground level, or at human level, are more than enough for the fire that is currently occurring.”

Despite these scorching temperatures, Portuguese officials are not expecting these wildfires to be as severe as those that ravaged the country last year.

More than a thousand people were evacuated from the town of Odemira as the country battled raging wildfires in August 2023.

A total of 120 regions were put on high alert as the country faced life-threatening heatwaves.

Every year, Portugal has a wildfire season between June and September, however, in recent years, they have begun to see very high temperatures as early as April and as late as October. This shows how climate change is affecting their wildfire period.

Typically, they are quite common for this time of year, however, the continuous extreme temperatures are making them harder to tackle and control.

Wildfires took the lives of 44 people in Europe alone last year, while climate-related, economic losses were an estimated 13.4 billion euros (£11.4m.)

Northwestern Europe experienced its hottest June on record this year, as the impact of climate change continues to affect the continent.