International press review
Headlines: Droughts, fires... It's way too hot on this planet!
Audio 05:02
Just like France, Italy or Spain, Germany is not spared from drought and fires either.
© AP/Jan Woitas
By: Sébastien Duhamel Follow
4 mins
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It is not an umpteenth chestnut tree to say that it is hot in this season.
This summer in the northern hemisphere is indeed an additional marker of global warming, the signals are red in the newspapers.
In Germany for example.
"
Fallen dry
".
Photo of One in support, the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
thus alerts on the symptomatic lack of water which strikes the black Elster.
This river is a tributary of the Elbe, its courses are dry.
"
No more water comes from the Oberlausitzer Bergland
", the mountains of Upper Lusatia in Saxony, notes the newspaper.
More broadly, "
Germany's lakes and rivers are short of water
" but "
this is not
Suddeutsche Zeitung
.
Human activity is also affected, with the supply of drinking water in particular.
The newspaper asks: “
Will water-rich Germany have a permanent problem?
»
A lack of water becoming widespread
And the Germans are far from the only ones to suffer the effects of the weather.
The same newspaper
is also concerned about the situation in Italy.
“
The Pays de Cocagne is dying of thirst
” and “
yearns for rain
” in the face of “
the driest summer ever recorded
”.
A summer that “
puts crops, livestock and farmers to the test
”.
Realize: "
drought even rarefies the sacred ingredients of Italian cuisine
".
Misfortune !
In Croatia, while
some cities have already recorded temperature records
this week, approaching 40°C, “
a new heat wave is coming
”.
Indeed, “
it will be sunny, hot and... hot on the Adriatic!
“, warns
Večernji list
.
It is not without consequences.
The earth is “
scorched
”, it has been asking for water since June.
“
The drought and the sun scorched the peppers, cucumbers, green beans and other tomatoes.
The prices of fruit and vegetables have sometimes doubled on the stalls.
However, "
even if a drop fell now, it would be like throwing a glass of water on a burning car
", laments
Večernji list
.
Portugal faced with fires
Who says drought, summer and high heat, also says fires.
"
Portugal is the European country that is burning the most
," says the front page of
Diário de Notícias
.
The Portuguese newspaper claims there are three reasons for this.
Namely, word of expert: “
the meteorology
” obviously, as well as “
the occupation of the territory and the behavior of the population
”.
More than 70,000 hectares of forest have already burned this year, notes
Público
.
And while there have been advances in firefighting over the past decade, the situation is complicated.
At this very moment, a fire is raging in the Serra de Estrala, the highest mountain range in Portugal.
“
The fire has reached the altitudes where the rarest species are found
”,
we learn
.
It has “
devastated regions where the presence of certain endemic species is known
.
Público
delivers a report on the spot, “
the population regrets the
'jewel'
that was lost in the Serra da Estrela.
It is irreparable damage
”.
Spain towards summers at 50°C
The Spanish neighbors are also worried about the future, affected by the fires as well.
Even if “
the situation in Galicia is improving
”, tells us
El Mundo
, 500 people have been evacuated, but the fire in Cáceres is “
largely
” under control.
In any case, “
Spain is heading for 50°C summers by the middle of the century
”.
It is to read on the front page of La
Vanguardia
, "
projections from the Spanish meteorological agency indicate that this year's summer temperatures will be the norm in the future
" in the country.
And that worries, of course.
Spain has also launched an energy plan, efficiency measures entered into force Wednesday, August 10 to save energy.
However, “
demand fell precisely yesterday, on the first day of application of these measures
”, tells us
El Mundo
.
A decrease of about 5.3% compared to the equivalent day of the previous week.
But closing the doors of stores, for example, “
this puts barriers to customers
,” said a trader who testified.
It takes time to change mentalities.
UK alert
The problem of fires and the climate which also worries the Anglo-Saxon press.
In the United Kingdom,
The Daily Telegraph
warns of the “
exceptional risk of forest fires
”.
It relays an "
unprecedented alert
", launched in most of southern England.
Its Une displays a map of the country entirely in orange and red.
However, we know that these colors are rarely a good sign.
The current heatwaves are "
pushing fire services to crisis point
", says
The Independent
.
The soldiers of the fire warned, one reads: they will probably not be able to answer all the requests for intervention.
Also read in the
New York Times
, how does the climate and its constraints, these high temperatures affect the cultural scene?
From Oregon, where a Shakespearean theater festival takes place, to Europe, the climate affects festivals.
The director of one of them testifies.
He explains that playing Shakespeare or dancing
Mamma Mia
in very hot weather is complicated.
And "
we can't inflict that on the public
".
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