Alan Shearer has pleaded for help as wildfires break out in Portugal with temperatures climbing to 46°C in the recent heatwave.
The Newcastle and England legend is currently on holiday in the Vilamoura region of the country and has posted several pictures on his social media accounts playing golf. But with dangerous temperatures beginning to escalate, fires have started to break out.
Shearer has recorded images of a roadside fire, revealing that the blaze is close to Three Lions’ boss Gareth Southgate’s holiday home.
“This is unbelievable,” Shearer says, as he captures the images. “I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s just catching alight. This is the roundabout near Gareth Southgate’s house…Jesus Christ! Someone needs to get here quick!”
Sky News have been following firefighters in the Lisbon area in recent days, responding to sporadic bush fires in the forested hills just north of the capital city. Locals have opened up on the dangerous developing situation, with one admitting they were surprised their house hadn’t yet burned down.
"We opened the gate and we saw everything burning,” he said. "I used a tractor with water in it to extinguish the flames. What can we do? Nothing. It's the third time this has happened."
Climate change is being blamed for the issues with Manuel Santos, who is second in command of the firefighting operation in Lisbon, adding: "There is an extensive area that is already burned. The temperature is rising and we are worried. We are working to try to minimise the pain of the people."
It is estimated that more than 3,000 firefighters were deployed across the sweltering country, with normal citizens joining them in a desperate bid to save their homes.
Portuguese Prime MInister Antonio Costa warned that the risk of fires in the country will only continue to increase due to the impact of climate change and the current state of their forests.
“Nobody can rest assured about the risks of fire,” Costa said earlier this week. He added that although preventative measures are in place the context is not favourable due to the temperature and that climate change means the threat will only increase.
“It is important that people understand that this is a team effort,” he said, in regards to a structural reform of the country’s forests.
The United Kingdom are also in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave, with amber alerts in place until next Tuesday (July 19). London mayor Sadiq Khan has triggered a severe weather emergency response in the capital - a move typically reserved for cold snaps in the winter.
City Hall has written to boroughs in the capital and asked them to conduct welfare checks on vulnerable people, including rough sleepers. “This ongoing heatwave could be dangerous for anyone, but for people sleeping rough, there are additional risks.”
Forecasters believe that temperatures in the UK could yet pass the record set in 2019, which saw 38.7C recorded in Cambridge.
