Nearly 20 people are still unaccounted for after a wildfire ripped through a tinder-dry area close to Spain’s Mediterranean coast. At least 12 people were killed by the rapidly spreading blaze, and four received severe burns.

Heatwaves and Fires in Southern Europe

Summer fires in southern Europe are nothing new, but they are happening earlier in the year and are of growing intensity, according to researchers. The countries of the European Union have seen 314 fires of over 30 hectares each, nearly double the 158 at the corresponding date last year.

Besides the immediate casualties, fires contribute to the amount of carbon dioxide and toxic smoke in the atmosphere, which can have its own deadly consequences. Fires in August last year in Spain and Portugal led to more than 2,000 premature deaths from smoke exposure.

The heat domes that trap high temperatures across Europe are having a cascade of other consequences, including reduced crop forecasts and an increase in diseases carried by mosquitos and other insects.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.