Wildfire kills 2 people in Spain as parts of Europe bake in heat wave

BARCELONA: A relentless European heat wave helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures on Wednesday.

The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that reached 14,000 meters (45,000 feet) of altitude, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.

Two farmers were killed while apparently trying to flee in a vehicle, local authorities said Wednesday.

Firefighters said that the fire spread at 28 kph (17 mph) at one point as it consumed 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) mostly of grain fields, making it one of the fastest fires registered in Europe.

“Wildfires today are not like they were before,” Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, said. “These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to put out.”

Firefighters credited a rainstorm later on Tuesday for having “quickly changed the situation and helped speed up getting the fire stabilized.”

Two of the 500 firefighters who deployed needed treatment at a local hospital for their injuries. Some 14,000 residents were ordered to stay indoors for several hours on Tuesday night.

More hot weather is expected on Wednesday with temperatures in the Lleida region forecast to reach a high of 39 C (102 F).

The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts said that it was closely monitoring the abnormally hot temperatures. Weather experts link the heat wave to climate change.

EU presents plan to cut emissions

As much of Europe was scorched by torrid weather, the European Commission unveiled proposals to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040 as the 27-nation bloc aims to be fully carbon-neutral by 2050.

“We are finally here on a very hot day, and some would call that very timely,” Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told reporters in Brussels.

The proposals include allowing businesses to use international carbon credits to offset their emissions. Under the plan, international carbon credits could be used — starting in 2036 and limited to 3 percent of benchmark 1990 EU emissions — to reach the 2040 emission reduction target.

The proposals have to be approved by the EU’s 27 member states.

More than two-thirds of the severest heat waves in Europe registered since 1950 have occurred since 2000, the World Meteorological Organization says.

Spain’s seas heat up

After Spain already set a record for June air temperatures, Spanish port authorities recorded the hottest ever water temperature readings for June in both the Mediterranean and the part of the Atlantic nearest to France.

Experts say higher surface temperatures are bad for sea life and make for warmer nights on shore.

“A much warmer sea around us contributes to the nights not cooling down, which is detrimental to people’s rest,” Manuel Vargas, researcher at the Oceanographic Center of Malaga, told The Associated Press.

Also in Spain’s southern city of Malaga, the international Red Cross set up an air-conditioned “climate refuge” to help residents. The Spanish Red Cross was itself providing an “assisted bathing service” to help people with reduced mobility to cool down in waters at the beach.

Air conditioning strains Italian power

Heat alerts were issued for 17 Italian cities Wednesday. The corresponding surge in air conditioning was straining the electric grid and causing periodic blackouts. On Tuesday, parts of Florence’s historic center had a blackout following a surge in electricity use, energy company Enel said.

Italy’s labor ministry, meanwhile, summoned union representatives to a meeting Wednesday to finalize a protocol on protecting farm, construction and other workers who labor outdoors from heat exposure. This came after a construction worker died in Bologna this week.

On Tuesday, Catholic bishops from Asia, Africa and Latin America met in the Vatican to demand climate justice for the parts of the world most affected by rising temperatures.

France remains under alert

France’s national weather agency kept four departments under red alert on Wednesday after temperatures exceeded 40 C (104 F) in many towns.

The summit of Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower remained closed until Thursday for “everyone’s comfort and safety.”

Switzerland protects river

In Switzerland, one of the two reactors at the Beznau nuclear power plant was shut down as part of efforts to prevent excessive warming of the Aare River, so as not to further burden wildlife and the overall ecosystem in already hot weather, operator Axpo said.

Water fight in the NetherlandsHundreds of people in the central town of Soest cooled down on a baking-hot Tuesday night by taking on the local fire brigade in a water fight. Townsfolk were armed with water guns, the first responders with fire hoses.

At this stage, the vote is mainly symbolic — the majority of political groups have already signaled that they will vote against the motion of no confidence — but it underscores the growing anger with her in Brussels after a string of controversial moves and scandals.

If the no-confidence motion were to pass, it would lead to the resignation of the entire Commission and trigger the complex process of appointing 27 new European commissioners.

Political turmoil

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the scheduling to political group leaders on Wednesday evening.

The debate has been scheduled for Monday, during which von der Leyen will appear. That would be followed by a discussion in which political group leaders will express their views.

Romanian right-wing lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea filed the motion of censure after gathering enough signatures last week to express outrage over her secret texts from 2021 with Albert Bourla, the chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. They related to discussions on getting vaccines to Europe at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

While some members of von der Leyen’s European People’s Party and the right-wing ECR have withdrawn their support for the motion after pressure from their own ranks, it still garnered the 72 signatures needed for it to happen.

Despite recent political turmoil, with the Socialists and liberals accusing von der Leyen of aligning with the far right to water down green reforms, the EU’s centrist majority, which supported her presidency, has little appetite to support the move.

New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI) The Public Works Department ( PWD) has received in-principle tree-felling approval from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) for Barapullah Phase 3 project, said officials on Wednesday.

The Barapullah Phase 3 project envisages providing seamless and signal-free connectivity between Mayur Vihar-I (East Delhi) and AIIMS (South Delhi). The new flyover will merge with the existing Barapullah flyover at Sarai Kale Khan.

Also Read | Parliament Monsoon Session 2025: President Droupadi Murmu Approves Proposal To Hold Monsoon Session of Parliament From July 21 to August 21.

“In-principle approval has been given by the CEC for cutting trees. There are about 274 trees on the Mayur Vihar side due to which the project has been stuck for several years. As soon as we get the final approval, work on the ground will commence,” said a senior PWD officer.

Last month, the CEC carried out a survey of the site where the trees have to be removed.

Also Read | Opium in Anardana Goli: Delhi Police Bust International Drug Cartel, Kingpin Among 2 Arrested for Smuggling Narcotics Concealed in Ayurvedic Products.

PWD Minister Parvesh Verma has visited the site twice in the past four months.

“It will take around six months to complete the project after tree-cutting permission is approved. Our target is to complete the construction work by the end of this year,” Verma said.

The CEC is a five-member committee formulated by the Supreme Court of India to monitor afforestation and tree-cutting permissions.

The Barapullah Phase 3 project has been under construction since 2015 and has had several cost escalations and missed deadlines. Officials said more than 90 per cent of the work at the site has been completed.

Last year, Lt Governor V K Saxena had said compared to the tender amount of Rs 964 crore, the government would end up paying Rs 1,326.3 crore for the Barapullah Phase 3 project. Recently, a flyover project of the PWD in the Nand Nagari area also received the necessary permission for cutting trees.

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The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen is to face a vote of no confidence in the European Parliament next week.

Parliament President Roberta Metsola informed the parliamentary group leaders of the development on Wednesday evening, dpa learned.

The motion of censure was brought forward by Romanian right-wing EU lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea.

The two-page document accuses the commission of a lack of transparency and mismanagement, particularly with regard to the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The motion needed the backing of one-tenth of EU lawmakers, or at least 72 signatories, in order to be debated and voted on during next week’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France.

According to current plans, the debate is scheduled to take place on Monday evening, followed by a vote on Thursday.

If passed, the commission would have to resign as a whole with its president and 26 EU commissioners.

Such a scenario is considered unlikely, however, as it would require a double majority consisting of two-thirds of votes cast and representing a majority of the parliament’s 720 seats.

At an investiture vote following last year’s European elections, von der Leyen’s commission was approved by 370 out of 688 votes cast.

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The tabled motion accuses the commission of refusing to provide information on alleged text messages between von der Leyen and the head of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

An EU court recently ruled in this case that the commission has not yet provided sufficient legal justification for withholding the information.

As reported by the New York Times, personal contact between von der Leyen and Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla was crucial to strike a deal for the EU’s multi-billion euro vaccine purchases at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is also criticism about coronavirus vaccines worth around €4 billion ($4.7 billion) remaining unused.

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According to the parliament’s research service, nine motions of censure have been tabled since the first direct election of the EU legislature in 1979.

The last motion targeted von der Leyen’s predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker, in 2014. It was rejected by a large margin. Only 101 EU lawmakers backed the motion, mainly eurosceptics, while 461 rejected it and 88 abstained.

The vote had been prompted by revelations about tax advantages for major international corporations in Luxembourg. Juncker had been prime minister of Luxembourg for almost 19 years before helming the commission in Brussels.

In 1999, the commission under Jacques Santer resigned to prevent a vote of no confidence which was expected to succeed, amid accusations of fraud, mismanagement and nepotism.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will face a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament next Thursday after a motion initiated by Romanian far-right MEP Gheorghe Piperea cleared procedural hurdles. The motion, backed by Piperea’s AUR party under the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, initially gathered 74 signatures. Despite some withdrawals, Piperea confirmed on Wednesday that the motion now has 79 signatures, just enough to trigger the vote. Tariff War: EU Counters US President Donald Trump, Approves Retaliatory Tariffs Between 10% and 25% on American Goods.

Ursula von der Leyen To Face No-Confidence Vote

JUST IN – European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen is to face a vote of no-confidence in the European Parliament — dpa pic.twitter.com/GVyD952B64 — Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 2, 2025

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