PEDRO Sanchez has admitted that ‘difficult and complex hours lie ahead’ as Spain continues to battle against a series of enormous wildfires that have forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents.
The Spanish prime minister made the comment on Monday as he visited Vall d’Uixo in Castellon province, where a terrifying blaze has scorched more than 7,200 hectares of land within the Sierra de Espadan natural park and remains out of control.
“Our priority is to defend people’s lives, protect population centres and fight the fire,” Sanchez wrote on X after meeting emergency officials.
“We will be there in the response and in the recovery. And we must also be there in prevention.
“I make a new call to agree on a State Pact in the face of the Climate Emergency to address the increasingly extreme impacts of climate change.”
Concerns are mounting that the situation will deteriorate nationwide over the coming days amid the arrival of the fourth heatwave of the summer.
Forecasters at state meteorological agency Aemet say a powerful ‘heat dome’ is set to develop over the peninsula from Tuesday, trapping hot air beneath a strengthening high-pressure system and sending temperatures soaring once again.
Highs of 44C are expected in some areas on Friday, with inland and eastern parts of Spain expected to bear the brunt of the heat.
The return of extreme temperatures will heighten wildfire concerns as western Europe struggles to grapple with a series of raging infernos, with Aemet predicting ‘very high/extreme levels’ of wildfire risk across the country.
Aside from the ongoing blaze in Castellon, firefighters are also battling away near Madrid, with one of two devastating wildfires spreading near the capital now confirmed as the largest in Spain’s recorded history.
READ MORE: Spain heatwave warning: Heat dome to bring scorching 44C highs as wildfire fears flare once again
Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated or ordered to stay indoors as one blaze tore through an unprecedented 50,000 hectares of farmland forest in Avila province.
A separate wildfire nearby has scorched around 27,000 hectares around San Martin de Valdeiglesias, in the southwest of the Madrid region, after three fire fronts merged into one late on Friday.
The simultaneous blazes prompted authorities to declare a national emergency for just the second time in Spain’s history.
But firefighters are struggling to extinguish the flames, which are being fanned by winds of up to 30km/h.
According to Sanchez, more than 170,000 hectares of land have been burned in around ten major wildfires so far this summer – six times more than by the same point last year.
The prime minister reiterated his call for a national pact to fight the ongoing climate emergency and urged the public to exercise caution, warning that emergency services and affected communities face a long and difficult summer ahead.
Across Spain and neighbouring France, where concerns are growing for the historic city of Bordeaux, more than 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.
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