Prince William, the Prince of Wales, released a statement on Monday evening via social media following widespread wildfires across France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Prince William described the wildfires as a 'stark reminder of the challenges posed by an increasingly extreme climate'.
In France, flames have consumed an area roughly four times the size of Paris and are nine miles from Bordeaux, according to reports. Central Spain faces three active wildfire fronts in the mountains northwest of Madrid, across the provinces of Madrid, Toledo, and Avila. More than 300,000 people have been evacuated from parts of France and Spain due to the fires, which have been described as the worst in two decades for France and the worst ever for the Madrid region.
In the UK, a wildfire at Cairngorms National Park in Scotland involved around 70 firefighters and nine appliances. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service estimated that 25 square kilometres were affected. The UK Government offered military support including Chinook helicopters, but Scottish First Minister John Swinney said it was unnecessary, adding that the Scottish Government had requested aerial support to drop water, but the Ministry of Defence said it did not have such equipment.
London Fire Brigade urged people to avoid disposable barbecues and properly dispose of smoking materials and litter. The Met Office assessed that wildfires could be exceptionally severe by Wednesday if they start in parts of London, the South East, and eastern England. Heat health alerts were upgraded to amber in some areas of England as the fourth heatwave of the year loomed. The Met Office forecast temperatures of 29–30°C widely in the South East on Tuesday, peaking at 35°C in south-eastern England on Wednesday.
Provisional Met Office data showed July was 3°C above average across the UK, potentially putting it among the hottest three or four Julys on record. On the Isle of Wight, campfire remains were found at a fire that burned an area equivalent to almost 13 football pitches and lasted five days. In Wales, two people were rescued after trying to film a wildfire with a drone, and multiple wildfires occurred in north Wales, including at the Rhinogydd mountains where smoke was visible from space.
According to the Copernicus climate service, Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average. Prince William founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, a 10-year scheme providing £1 million annually to five winners for innovative environmental solutions.