'Major incident' in London, as wildfires continue to rage across western Europe
London is facing a "major incident" caused by fires amid record-breaking temperatures, as wildfires continue to rage and claim lives across large parts of Europe.
On Tuesday, around 250 firefighters were deployed to tackle multiple grass and park fires in east and south London.
"London Fire Brigade has just declared a Major Incident in response to a huge surge in fires across the capital today," Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Twitter.
"This is critical, the London Fire Brigade is under immense pressure," he added.
The UK recorded its highest ever temperature in recent history on Tuesday -- 40.2°C at London Heathrow airport.
175 firefighters are grappling with a blaze on Pea Lane in Upminster, east London, with smoke pouring across the M25 motorway, and a further 85 are tackling two fires in Croydon woodlands, south of the British capital, according to the BBC.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have been evacuated in France and Spain as water-bombing planes scramble to extinguish flames in tinder-dry forests.
Two people were killed in the blazes in Spain that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has blamed on global warming.
The body of a 69-year-old sheep farmer was found on Monday in the northwestern Zamora province near where a 62-year-old firefighter died a day earlier when he was trapped by flames.
More than 30 forest fires around Spain have forced the evacuation of thousands of people and blackened 220 square kilometres of land.
“Climate change kills,” Sánchez said Monday during a visit to the Extremadura region. “It kills people, it kills our ecosystems and biodiversity.”
At least 748 heat-related deaths have been reported in the heat wave in Spain and neighbouring Portugal, where temperatures reached 47 C earlier this month.
Much cooler
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