Paris — Out-of-control wildfires, like the ones that brought destruction to southern Europe, North America and parts of SA in recent weeks, will likely become more frequent as global temperatures soar under climate change, experts say. More than 10,000 people had to flee raging fires in southern France this week, and several villages were evacuated in Portugal just weeks after another blaze killed more than 60 people there. In SA in June, nine people died and some 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes as fires raged through the drought-stricken Western Cape, while this month some 40,000 people had to flee wildfires in western Canada, where officials declared a state of emergency. In California, about 8,000 people were evacuated last week ahead of fires that razed vast swathes of forest. Long periods of heat cause vegetation to become dry and inflammable, making it easily set alight by lightning, spontaneous combustion, or fires lit by humans. The more the mercury climbs, the...
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