France is being ravaged by massive wildfires amid a record heat wave
Large-scale wildfires broke out in France on Tuesday, destroying hundreds of hectares of land amid extreme heat.
One of the largest fires occurred in the Lot-et-Garonne department in the southwestern part of the country, where the fire engulfed about 87 hectares of land.
More than 180 firefighters were deployed to battle the blaze.
Another fire broke out in the Maine-et-Loire department, where about 85 hectares of forest were burned. Approximately 200 firefighters and dozens of pieces of equipment were working at the scene.
In the Indre department, the fire destroyed about 40 hectares of fields near a forested area, injuring two firefighters.
Tuesday, June 23, was the hottest day in France in the last 79 years of record-keeping.
Due to the extreme heat, a red alert was issued for Wednesday in 58 departments across the country, an unprecedented scale for France.
Emergency services continue to battle the fires, and authorities are warning of a high risk of new fires due to the prolonged heat and dry weather.
This was reported by BFMTV.
As a reminder, the French Green Party has proposed introducing a special “climate” leave of up to five days, which would allow workers to protect themselves during extreme weather events without losing pay.
On Monday, 845 schools and colleges in France will temporarily close due to the intense heat. Another 1,800 educational institutions will shorten the school day and send students home early.
In Spain, May 2026 was a record-breakingly difficult month due to a heat wave that claimed the lives of at least 101 people. This is the highest figure for that month in the last 11 years of records, and it is more than three times the average for the previous decade. Authorities attribute the rise in mortality specifically to the impact of extremely high temperatures.
