Drought in England, fires rage in France as heatwave persists

GBNEWS24DESK//

Firefighters from across Europe came to France’s rescue on Friday to battle a massive wildfire, while fire also raged in Portugal and parts of England faced a severe drought, as successive heatwaves renewed the focus on climate change risks.

Much of Europe has faced weeks of baking temperatures that have also depleted water levels of the Rhine River in Germany and seen the source of Britain’s River Thames dry up further downstream than in previous years, Reuters reports.

High temperatures and a worsening drought brought a high risk of new fires breaking out in Gironde, in southwestern France, local officials said, even after an overnight reprieve held in check the wildfire that has been burning for days, scorched thousands of hectares and displaced 10,000 people.

Firefighters from Germany, Romania, Greece and beyond were on the ground to help France battle the fire in the region – home to Bordeaux wine – as well as on other fronts, including in Brittany in the northwest.