Now Sicily burns with wildfires raging near Med tourist hotspots as Europe braces for 47C blowtorch heatwave

Sicily is burning with raging wildfires as Europe braces for a 47C blowtorch heatwave.The island is currently battling 40 separate blazes, including a massive fire that tore through the commune of Bivona, threatening homes and a marble processing plant in the Contrada Savarini area. Elsewhere in the Agrigento province, wildfires erupted in Favara, Sciacca, Cammarata and near the Lake Arancio in Sambuca di Sicilia, as firefighters, forest rangers and civil defence officials battled the flames.Three Canadair helicopters and dozens of firefighting teams were deployed to protect homes in Castronovo di Sicilia of the Palermo province, where the flames spread into the town.Some 150 hectares of land have been scorched by the inferno, while 10 households made up of 200 inhabitants have been evacuated.Experts have warned that parts of southern Europe could exceed 50C this summer as millions of British holidaymakers prepare for their getaways.Large swathes of Spain have already endured temperatures of 44C in recent days, while the heat has fuelled lethal wildfires across the country and France, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. A blaze raged out of control across the central Guadalajara province on Monday, burning for a fifth day and becoming the ​largest fire of the year, as forecasters warned an approaching ‌heatwave would raise wildfire risks across much of the nation. Sicily is burning with raging wildfires as Europe braces for a 47C blowtorch heatwave The island is currently battling 40 separate blazes, including a massive fire that tore through the commune of Bivona, threatening homes and a marble processing plant in the Contrada Savarini area Elsewhere in the Agrigento province, wildfires erupted in Favara, Sciacca, Cammarata and near the Lake Arancio in Sambuca di Sicilia, as firefighters, forest rangers and civil defence officials battled the flamesThe ​fire comes less than two weeks after a wildfire near ​Bedar, in Almeria province, killed 13 people - one of Spain's deadliest ⁠blazes in decades. Seven were from the United Kingdom, ⁠including a 93-year-old British woman who perished from burn injuries in a hospital.Authorities evacuated three additional municipalities on Monday as the ​La Mierla wildfire in Guadalajara province expanded to more than 26,000 hectares. ​More than 1,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes.Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said nearly 30 population centres were surrounded by the blaze, underscoring the challenge facing firefighters. ​Protecting lives and preventing the fire from reaching homes and urban ​areas remained the top priority, he said.Spain's weather agency AEMET said the heatwave, the ‌third ⁠of 2026, was expected to last at least until Thursday, bringing temperatures above 40C across much of the southeastern interior and pushing wildfire danger to extreme levels.Some areas could reach 42 to ​44C by ​Thursday as hot, ⁠dry air moves north from Africa. The agency also warned of possible dry thunderstorms in mountainous areas of ​eastern Spain. Spain is already the European Union's most fire-affected ​country ⁠this year.According to the EU's Copernicus wildfire monitoring service, 104,423 hectares had burned across Spain in 2026, compared with 41,781 hectares in France.The blaze ⁠is ​unfolding after an exceptionally destructive fire season last ​summer, when Spain recorded 354,747 hectares burned and 63 large wildfires, the highest annual burned ​area of the past decade. This screen grab taken from handout video footage released on July 16, 2026, by Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows the military fighting a massive wildfire in a sparsely populated part of the Aragon region in northeastern Spain The fire started Thursday in a forest-covered mountainous area near the village of La Mierla in the Castilla-La Mancha region, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Madrid This handout photos released on July 19, 2026 by Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows the military fighting a wildfire in La Mierla area, near Guadalajara, about 62 miles north of Madrid Spain's weather agency AEMET said the heatwave, the ¿third ¿of 2026, was expected to last at least until Thursday, bringing temperatures above 40C across much of the southeastern interior and pushing wildfire danger to extreme levelsIn France, a blaze began on the Mediterranean coast near Frejus on Sunday, threatening ​homes and forcing the evacuation of several ‌hamlets as strong winds and drought conditions fuelled its rapid spread.The fire scorched about 180 hectares by the evening.'The fire spread extremely quickly ​in the context of this heatwave and extreme ​drought,' local prefect Simon Babre told BFM ⁠TV. Television images ​showed large flames advancing behind hillside villas typical of the French Riviera, while thick black smoke billowed above pine and ​cypress trees.Train services between the Mediterranean port ​of Toulon and Les Arcs were suspended because of the ‌fire.According to the ​Reuters Climate Monitor, the average high ​in the ⁠town of Les Arcs, where the fire was raging, was 38C, ⁠which ​is 11.4 degrees above the normal ​high for July 19 between 1961 and 1990.The fire in the Var region was 'not yet contained' by midday Monday, and firefighters remained 'cautious,' said Eric Grohin, head of the Var fire brigade.Temperatures in the area, which were the highest in France on Sunday, exceeded 40C on Monday, according to Météo-France.The blaze, which started in Taradeau, northwest of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez around 3.00pm, spread quickly before reaching the neighbouring town of Les Arcs-sur-Argens. It burned 10 homes, damaged nine others and left one firefighter with minor injuries.Around 615 firefighters backed by reinforcements from four neighbouring departments, five Canadair water bombers, four firefighting helicopters and two Dash aircraft were deployed against the blaze. An Airbus Helicopters H125 helicopter drops water on a burning forest following a wildfire in Taradeau, in Var department, southeastern France on July 20 A Dash 8 - Q400MR aircraft drops fire retardant to slow the fire's spread As the flames reached the edge of built-up areas, authorities evacuated 150 people from two affected towns, housing them in a community hall and a school.The mayor of Les Arcs, Marcel Florent, described 'a fireball that hit the town' Sunday night, recalling how 'even the firefighters had to take shelter'.The Var department has been placed under an orange heatwave warning. The department, along with three others in southeastern France - Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, and Gard - was placed under a 'very high' risk of forest fires for Tuesday. Twenty-eight departments have been placed under 'high' risk.The ⁠World Meteorological Organisation last month warned that the record temperatures that baked western Europe for over a week in late June would worsen the risk ​of wildfires, ​given the ⁠outlook for sustained high temperatures, very low humidity and dry vegetation.