No country is safe' Nordic heatwave was supercharged by climate crisis

The heatwave-fuelled wildfires that have killed two people in Spain over recent days, devouring thousands of hectares of land and forcing thousands of people from their homes, are a clear warning of the impact of the climate emergency, the country's environment minister has said.

- Sam Jones Madrid Helena Smith Athens

Speaking yesterday as firefighters in Spain, Greece and other Mediterranean countries continued to battle dozens of blazes, Sara Aagesen said the 14 wildfires still burning across seven regions were further proof of Spain's particular vulnerability to global heating. She said that while some of the fires appeared to have been started deliberately, the blazes were a clear indicator of the need for better preparation and prevention.

"The fires are one of the parts of the impact of that climate change, which is why we have to do all we can when it comes to prevention," she told Cadena Ser radio. "Our country is especially vulnerable to climate change. We have resources now but, given that the scientific evidence and the general expectation point to it having an ever greater impact, we need to work to reinforce and professionalise those resources."

Aagesen's comments came a day after temperatures in parts of southern Spain surged past 45C (113F). The state meteorological office, Aemet, said there were no recorded precedents for the time of year.