Unseasonal heat sparks dozens of wildfires in Spain

Numerous wildfires erupted in northern Spain after unusually high temperatures of 30 Celsius (86F in some areas) on Friday (28 October) turned vegetation into dry fuel. This raises concerns about the changing weather patterns in Europe.

According to emergency services, 40 fires were reported in the Basque Country and Asturias, Cantabria, and Cantabria.

The Spanish national weather agency AEMET forecast on Thursday (27 October) that October could be the hottest since records began. It said every day except 1 October had been warmer than the average temperature for this time of the year.

Euskalmet, the Basque weather agency, raised the wildfire danger in the region on Thursday to high or moderate depending on where it is located.

Jon Sanchez, a firefighter, told Reuters that "We have an Orange Alert today" as he stopped fighting the fire in Sopela in the Basque Province of Biscay.

During the summer of 2013, several heatwaves of extreme heat with temperatures well above 40C (104F), hit southern Europe. This was part of a rising temperatures that scientists and climatologists widely attribute to human activity.

According to government figures, this year was the worst for wildfires in Spain. 260,000 hectares (6642,500 acres) were destroyed by the blazes.

According to data from the European Union’s Joint Research Centre, 775,941 ha of Europe were set on fire by wildfires in this year's wildfire season. This is the second largest area ever recorded.

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