During the summer of 2017, southern Europe experienced a heatwave. Although the UK did not have a particularly hot summer, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey all experienced unusually high temperatures throughout the summer, reaching a peak in August. Temperatures soared to over 40°C and the heatwave persisted due to the high-pressure system which settled over Europe. The consequences of these high temperatures and lack of rain were wildfires, drought and difficult conditions for people, including tourists (see Figure 1).
On 17 June 2017, a forest fire broke out 200 km northeast of Lisbon, in central Portugal. It spread fast and by the end of the day 160 specialist vehicles and hundreds of firefighters were tackling the blaze. This was just one of over 60 wildfires that broke out in Portugal at about the same time.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
