Forest Fires Plague SW Europe amid Record Temperatures

Iberia turned into a tinderbox

Thousands evacuated in Spain amid raging wildfires in the west and southeast of the country.

Meanwhile, about 80% of neighboring Portugal is facing severe or extreme drought conditions, according to the local climatologists.

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Meteorologists expect the temperature in southern Germany to break all-time high of 40.3C (105F) on Friday, a record that was set just over a month ago on 5 July in the town of Kitzingen in Bavaria, said a report.

France’s weather agency issued Extreme Heat Warnings for central and eastern France Friday, forecasting temperatures of up to 40C in many regions.

“This summer has been a particularly hot one for France and left many areas in drought and with water restrictions imposed,” said a report.

Record Heatwave Kills Dozens in U.S.

Deadly heat persists in eastern U.S.

At least 46 people have died amid extreme heat that has paralyzed more than two dozen states from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Heat-related fatalities occurred in Virgina (at least 12 deaths reported), Maryland (11), Chicago (10), Wisconsin (4), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (3) Tennessee (2), and Indiana (1), where an infant died after being left in a vehicle in triple-digit temperatures outside her home in Greenfield, about 25 miles east of Indianapolis.

Hundreds of thousands of people in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland and Indiana are still without power 9 days after deadly storms swept through the region causing widespread destruction and ‘catastrophic damage’ to power grids.

Map of Temperature Departure from Normal

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

• Krasnodar Region, Russia. The worst flooding in living memory in southern Russia’s Krasnodar Region, near the Black Sea, has left at least 153 people dead and and more than 5,000 homes destroyed or damaged, reports said.
  • “The flash flood inundated the cities of Gelendzhik, Krymsk and Novorossiysk as well as the four villages of Divnomorskoe, Nizhnebakanskaya, Neberdzhaevskaya and Kabardinka.”
  • “The streets of Krymsk are now mostly deserted. The town looks like the set of a post-apocalyptic movie,” RT reported .
  • About 3,000 people have been evacuated from flood-hit areas in Krasnoda, as of posting,  while 30,000 people are without power in the region, and more than 80 percent of the population of Krymsk have lost their gas supply cut off.

Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Up-to-date weekly average CO₂ at Mauna Loa

• Week of June 24, 2012:     395.33 ppm
• Weekly value from 1 year ago:     393.50 ppm
• Weekly value from 10 years ago:     375.08 ppm

Recent Mauna Loa CO₂

• June 2012:     395.77 ppm
• June 2011:     393.68 ppm

Recent Global CO₂

• May 2012:     393.77 ppm
• May 2011:     391.90 ppm

Links to Recent Related Entries

• Drought Disaster Declared in Montana Posted on July 5, 2012
• Colorado Declared Agri Disaster Area Posted on July 4, 2012
• Disaster Declared in 94 Counties across 4 States Posted on July 3, 2012
• Deadly Heat Blankets Eastern U.S. Posted on July 2, 2012
• States of Emergency Declared in 4 States and DC as Storm Death Toll Rises Posted  on July 1, 2012
• Deadly Heat Wave Affects Third of U.S. Population Posted on June 30, 2012
• The record-setting heat wave continues to expand Posted on June 30, 2012
• Explosive Wildfires Continue Erupting Across the U.S. Posted on June 29, 2012
• Destructive Wildfire Activity Intensifies in Colorado Posted on June 28, 2012
• Drought 2012 Posted on January 8, 2012

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar