France battles ‘monster’ wildfire as massive heatwave hits Europe 

Since the past few years, the rate of wildfires across the globe has gone up significantly. The reason, as you can assume, is climate change! Recently, such a wildfire spread across south-western France, owing to a massive heatwave throughout Europe.  

The ‘monster’ wildfire at a glance 
Described as a ‘monster’ and an ‘ogre’ by firefighters on ground, this widespread wildfire has raged across south-western France, more specifically, south-east of Bordeaux and the Gironde region. Media reports suggest that as many as 1000 firefighters are battling the wildfire which has already destroyed around 7400 hectares of forest. It has also forced 10000 locals to evacuate and seek shelter away from their homes including the 2000 odd population of Belin-Beliet, a place that now stands as a ghost town. Unfortunately, this is the exact  region where another deadly wildfire had broken out only last month, damaging around 14000 hectares of land and rendering 40000 people homeless, before it was contained. Interestingly, 2022 has been the driest year of France since 1961. No wonder almost 60000 hectares of land have gone up in flames in France, six times the annual average in between 2006 and 2021, as revealed by the European Forest Fire Information System.  

Tackling the wildfire 
France has sought help from Germany, Poland and Romania, who are sending in firefighters to tackle the wildfire that is gradually worsening due to strong winds, and increasing temperatures. Moreover, France has also deployed its nine water-bombing and flame-retardant helicopters and have even borrowed few specialist firefighting aircrafts from adjoining Greece and Sweden. The firefighting officials are now fearing the change of course of the wildfires, thanks to the unpredictable weather conditions.  

Wildfires across Europe 
While the recent French wildfire has received global attention, it goes without saying that the entire European continent is suffering from the worst cases of wildfires in history. Countries like Greece, Spain and Italy have been experiencing record temperatures and drought conditions. In fact, a wildfire in the mountainous region of Serra de Estrela in central Portugal has already reported more than 1000 fatalities and burning of 10000 hectares of forest.