Greece fires: Rhodes state of emergency remains as flames near Athens – live update

A wildfire has triggered a series of massive explosions at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece.

The depot was evacuated before the explosions, which shattered windows in the surrounding area.

No injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.

Greek state broadcaster ERT said the facility is in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos near the Volos area.

The fire reached the ammunition storage facility about four miles north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site

The fighter jets are reportedly being moved from the air base.

Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.

“Despite their superhuman efforts, our forces were unable to stop the blaze,” he said.

He said the blaze was the most dangerous of the 124 wildfires the fire service had to deal with on Thursday.

The wildfire burned on three fronts and forced a section of Greece’s busiest highway to close for several hours while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.

State ERT television showed residents and visitors in the coastal village of Anchialos, close to the blast site, being evacuated by sea while others were leaving in cars and buses.

The mayor of the city of Volos, Achilleas Beos, appealed to all remaining village residents to obey the evacuation order, saying some 80% had left. The coastguard said dozens of residents were taken in small private boats to the city of Volos.

The Nea Anchialos air base is 12 miles from the city, where the blasts were heard loudly. The air force said that while the facility was not immediately threatened, some of the F-16 fighters based there were taking off for other air bases as a precaution.

Pope Francis urged governments to do more to fight climate change and protect “our common home” as improving weather conditions Friday helped firefighters contain wildfires in Greece, Italy and other countries in southern Europe.

Francis, who has been outspoken on environmental issues, sent a telegram of condolences to Greece, where wildfires killed five people over the past week, including the pilots of a water-dropping aircraft.

The pope noted that successive heat waves have exacerbated the dangers of the summer fire season. He offered his prayers for firefighters and emergency personnel in particular.

“(I hope) that the risks to our common home, exacerbated by the present climate crisis, will spur all people to renew their efforts to care for the gift of creation, for the sake of future generations,” Francis said.

The weather forecast for European wildfire hotspots has shown that heat will continue over the weekend but there will not be scorching temperatures.

There have been highs of 40C but the weekend is set to being temperatures of just over the 30C barrier.

Greek island Rhodes will see highs of 32 and 33C on Saturday and Sunday respectively, according to BBC weather.

In Italy, Puglia will see a peak of 38C on Sunday while Sardinia will see only 32C.

Southern France will likely not see the heat it had experiences while the BBC estimates Seville will be one of the warmer Spanish cities at 39C on Sunday.

Climate talks between representatives of the Group of 20 countries (G20) have failed to reach a consensus on emission reduction and mitigation targets, an Indian official said on the last day of the discussions on Friday.

Developed countries in the group demanded mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2025 and a reduction of absolute GHG emissions by 43% by 2030, all in a bid to contain global warming and stave off even worse heatwaves, wildfires and floods.

Both demands were opposed by developing countries, the official, who did not want to be named, said.

The developing countries said the overall mitigation targets – aimed at cutting or eliminating greenhouse gas emissions, or removing them from the atmosphere – would limit their ability to develop infrastructure and grow, the official said.

They wanted the bloc to stick to the 2015 Paris Agreement that allowed different countries to tackle global warming in different ways depending on their circumstances, the official added.

This is the moment police rescued 64 people, 40 of which were children, from a camp site during a raging storm in northern Spain.

The group were rescued from the site in the Sarvise area of Spain, which has been hit by heavy rain. Vehicles have been stranded by torrents of muddy water, while streets in nearby areas have been flooded.

The Guardia Civil shared footage of the rescue on its Twitter page and said: “The @GuardiaCivil of #Torla has evacuated 64 people, 40 of them minors, from a camp affected by strong storms in the area of #Sarvise .”

A British court ruled Friday against London suburbs that tried to block a pollution tax on older cars as green policies become a hot political issue in the U.K. amid increasingly dramatic impacts of global climate change.

The High Court ruled that Mayor Sadiq Khan had the authority to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, which charges drivers of older gas and diesel vehicles 12.50 pounds ($16) a day they operate, to the city’s outskirts next month.

Five conservative councils challenged Mr Khan’s right to impose the measure. They criticized the expansion to an area where there are fewer public transport options and people are more reliant on cars, and because of a disproportionate impact on lower-income drivers who can’t afford newer, cleaner cars.

The dust-up over how to control emissions comes as July is on target to be the hottest month in recorded human history and the effects of a warming planet can be seen in catastrophic wildfires, flooding and alarming ocean temperatures. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week declared: “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

Two Canadair water planes have been sent to tackle a blaze that has started in woodland in northern Italy, near the French border.

It follows a fire breaking out in Puglia on Thursday which was filmed by the local fire brigade.

A seaside town centre high street resembled a river when a month’s worth of rain fell in just one day.

This footage, filmed by The Scarborough Joke and Magic Shop, shows water cascade down Eastborough in the Yorkshire seaside town on Thursday.

Cars can be seen to aquaplaning down the road, with water cascading down. Shoppers are also seen taking cover under umberellas and in the shops. One resident said: “It looks like a river flowing to the sea.”

It happened following heavy downpours across large swathes of northern England on Thursday with some places seeing around 50mm.

Turkey has joined other holiday destinations across Europe in being struck by wildfires while in the grip of high temperatures.

Mediterranean countries have seen days of flames, first seen on the Greek island of Rhodes but since spreading to Corfu, Sicily and parts of Portugal, France and the Canary Islands.

Authorities in Italy have released drone footage said to show a suspected arsonist in action in the Calabria region, as firefighters continue to battle wildfires across the south.

Searing temperatures have scorched Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria, where dozens of fires have broken out and multiple evacuations have been ordered.

The president of the Calabria region, Roberto Occhiuto, vowed to take action against such arsonists, adding that 22 suspected arsonists had been caught via drone surveillance last year.

In the footage he released, the suspect can be seen in a woodland area, before throwing rocks at the drone.