PARIS, July 28 — A brutal heatwave combined with fast-moving wildfires has forced more than 325,000 people to evacuate across France and Spain, as fire crews battled blazes that show little sign of easing.
The most severe fire is burning near Gironde in southwestern France, where flames have crept to within roughly 15 kilometres of Bordeaux, threatening vineyards and residential areas alike. Spanish authorities have reported similar evacuation orders in fire-prone regions as temperatures across the Iberian Peninsula and southern France remain well above seasonal norms.
Emergency services in both countries have scrambled water-bomber aircraft and thousands of firefighters, while local authorities have opened temporary shelters for displaced residents. Scientists have repeatedly linked the increasing frequency and intensity of such fire seasons in southern Europe to rising average temperatures linked to climate change.
This kind of extreme-weather event is a recurring theme in environment and geography sections of general awareness papers — aspirants should be familiar with how heatwaves, drought conditions and wildfire risk are interconnected, and with the broader pattern of worsening fire seasons across the Mediterranean in recent years.