As firefighters battled the blaze in Malaga, more than a thousand people had been evacuated.

Next week, a heat wave will hit Great Britain, which has today declared a national emergency.

“Extreme heat” in Great Britain

British Meteorological Institute warned of “extreme heat” on Monday and Tuesday next week. This is the first time the institute has issued a warning about extreme temperatures of up to 40 degrees, which it calls the red level.

This can lead to risks of traffic problems, power outages, and risks to life and property.

– The British are not very used to high temperatures. 40 degrees has never been measured there. Particularly the south that was affected, Scotland escaped, said state meteorologist John Smits.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports that the ongoing heat wave in Europe will cause a rapid increase in pollution in the atmosphere. Especially in urban areas pollution will increase.

That’s because pollution particles are trapped in the air. The air is still sedentary and windy in hot weather, explained the meteorologist.

– So pollution particles accumulate. This leads to poorer air quality, which affects the health of vulnerable people.

Large forest fire in Malaga

Forest fires also occurred in several places in Europe. Due to the extreme heat, it was difficult for firefighters to gain control.

More than 1,000 people have been told to evacuate this afternoon following a massive forest fire in Malaga, local newspapers report Malaga Hoy.

Evacuations are taking place in the towns of Alhaurín el Grande and Alhaurín de la Torre, according to the newspaper.

Infoca, the forest fire fighting service in Andalusia, told Malaga Hoy that it was too early to say anything about the cause of the fire.

Marit Breen from Norway said earlier today she could see the fire from her balcony, but said it now appeared to have died down.

Breen fits in with an apartment in Alhaurin de la Torre.

– We haven’t received any information about the evacuation, and it seems to be slowing down a lot. Around 1 p.m. it was reflecting yellow from the fire, now it looks as though there is a cloud over the mountain, Breen told NRK.

He said he was not aware of the forest fire until some neighbors told him.

Forest fires in Portugal

Portugal has introduced a state of emergency due to forest fires. On Thursday, more than 3,000 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the forest fires that were engulfing Portugal. More than 25,000 hectares of forest have burned in the country this week.

At least 30 houses were damaged. On Wednesday, a total of 200 different fires were counted.

– Yesterday, 47 degrees was measured somewhere in Portugal. This would have been a record for June if the measuring stations had not been canceled later. The previous record in the state was 47.4 degrees in August a few years ago, said state meteorologist John Smits.

– Spain has temperatures in the mid 40s today. Thankfully, it’s not too hot in most places. On the coast in Spain and Portugal it wasn’t so bad, he said.

Finnmark’s warmest

Climate scientist Tore Furevik has warned that Norwegians don’t understand how dangerous a heat wave can be in Europe.

– After all, they are deadly, not only for nature and animals, but also for humans. There is a clear link between the number of deaths in summer and high temperatures, Furevik told NTB.

At the same time, it takes a lot of extreme temperatures to reach Norway. Geographically, Norway is too far from the warm air core of northern Africa, said meteorologist Smits.

– But we did the rounds in late June and early July when it was 32.5 degrees measured at Banak in Finnmark. Finnmark has been the warmest in Norway this summer.

For heat to get this far north, it has to come “from behind,” explained Smits.

– Heat cannot come from the north or west. It must come from the east or southeast, from Russia and to Finnmark. If the wind comes from the other direction, the temperature drops quickly to 20 degrees.