In Europe, more people were evacuated from their homes on the Spanish island of Tenerife today morning as a wildfire raging in the north of the island remained out of control. Amid hot and dry weather, the blaze broke out on Wednesday around Spain’s highest peak, Mount Teide volcano, in a mountainous national park.
Regional leader Fernando Clavijo said, some 5,000 hectares of land was affected with a perimeter of 50 km and 7,000 people were either evacuated or confined to their homes. Clavijo called the fire, the most complex the Canary Islands have faced in 40 years. He said, it was due to a combination of hot, dry and windy weather, as well as difficult terrain.
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More evacuations were ordered today due to worsening weather conditions overnight. Scientists say climate change has led to more frequent and more powerful extreme weather events.