LONDON, July 2 — Wildfires have killed two people in Spain and two others have died in France because of a heatwave that has gripped Europe and forced the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.

With scorching temperatures again today, Spanish officials said a wildfire in Catalonia had killed two people yesterday and France's energy minister reported two deaths with a direct link to the heatwave, with 300 others taken to hospital.

Italy issued red alerts for 18 cities because of the extreme heat and Turkey has been tackling wildfires in what meteorologists say is an “exceptional” heatwave because it has come so early in Europe’s summer.

The blaze in Torrefeta in the Catalonia region of Spain destroyed several farms and affected an area stretching for about 40 kilometres, officials said. It was largely contained though more wind and thunderstorms were expected today.

“The fire was extremely violent and erratic due to storms and strong winds, generating a convection cloud that complicated extinguishing efforts,” the fire service said.

Authorities in the Spanish city of Barcelona said yesterday they were also looking into whether the death of a street sweeper at the weekend was heat-related.

Spain experienced its hottest June on record this year, and France had its hottest June since 2003, Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said.

Weather forecaster Meteo France said red alerts remained for several areas of central France, but that heat was easing in the west, though intense thunderstorms with possible heavy bursts of rainfall were expected in many parts of the east.

Temperature highs were expected around 39 degrees Celsius, with up to 34°C in Paris, and 36°C to 38°C in Strasbourg, Lyon, Grenoble and Avignon.

In Italy, Florence was expected to bear the brunt of the heat with a top temperature of 39°C during the day. Red alerts were issued in 18 cities, including Milan and Rome.

There was a risk of violent and sudden rain and storms, particularly along the central Appennine mountain region and Sardinia and Sicily.

Swiss utility Axpo shut down one reactor unit at the Beznau nuclear power plant and halved output at another yesterday because of the high temperature of river water.

Water is used for cooling and other purposes at nuclear power plants, and restrictions were expected to continue as temperatures are monitored.

Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are a cause of climate change, with deforestation and industrial practices being other contributing factors.

Last year was the planet’s hottest on record. — AFP

LONDON: A fire that shut London’s Heathrow airport in March, stranding thousands of people, was caused by the UK power grid’s failure to maintain an electricity substation, an official report said on Wednesday, prompting the energy watchdog to open a probe.

The closure of Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, cost airlines tens of millions of pounds. It also raised questions about the resilience of Britain’s infrastructure.

Energy minister Ed Miliband called the report “deeply concerning,“ after it concluded that the issue which caused the fire was identified seven years ago but went unaddressed by power grid operator National Grid. Energy regulator Ofgem said it was “a preventable, technical fault”.

The report follows a review of the March 21 incident by the National Energy System Operator, which manages the electricity network and was separated from National Grid last year.

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Despite detecting an elevated moisture reading in one of the bushings in 2018, which indicates an imminent fault that requires the component to be replaced, the company did not fix the issue, the report said.

The controls in place were not effective and failed to identify that no action had been taken, including during an opportunity in 2022 when NGET decided to defer basic maintenance, letting the issue go unaddressed, it added.

A National Grid spokesperson said that the company had a comprehensive asset inspection and maintenance programme in place and that it had taken further action since the fire.

“There are important lessons to be learnt about cross-sector resilience and the need for increased coordination,“ the spokesperson said.

Ofgem plans to review whether National Grid complied with the relevant legislation and licence conditions relating to the development and maintenance of its electricity system close to Heathrow.

The regulator will also commission an independent audit into National Grid assets to review whether the failings were a one-off or systemic, it said.

In an emailed response to the report, Heathrow blamed the incident on a “combination of outdated regulation, inadequate safety mechanisms, and National Grid’s failure to maintain its infrastructure”.

Its own review found in May that the airport had responded well to the power outage, saying alternative choices would not have materially changed the outcome on the day.

LAWAS, 2 Julai: Anggota bomba bertungkus-lumus lebih empat jam untuk memadam kebakaran belukar yang merebak seluas tiga ekar di Kampung Banting di sini, petang tadi.

Ketua Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Lawas, Clarence D.Primus Tiandun berkata, sepasukan anggota membabitkan tiga kenderaan bomba dikerah ke lokasi bagi operasi pemadaman sebaik menerima laporan kecemasan jam 3.18 petang.

Katanya, sebaik tiba, pasukan keluaran operasi mendapati berlaku kebakaran belukar dianggarkan berkeluasan tiga ekar.

“Anggota bertindak memadam kebakaran dengan membuat pemisah api/ penghalang kebakaran menggunakan satu aliran hos sepanjang 60 meter dari jentera tangki sehingga api dapat dikawal dan padam sepenuhnya,” katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Katanya, api terkawal pada jam 6.30 petang dan operasi ditamatkan 10 minit kemudian.

Clarence menasihati orang ramai agar tidak membuat pembakaran secara terbuka dan pihak Lembaga Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar (NREB) Limbang boleh mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap perbuatan tersebut.

Katanya lagi, pihaknya sudah membuat laporan kepada NREB Limbang untuk melaksana pemantauan dan penguatkuasaan bagi mengelak berlakunya pembakaran terbuka. -TVS.