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Fires burn across continents - 27th July 2022

Firefighters are trying to stop forest fires across Europe and North America. Tens of thousands of hectares are burning.

Europe's had record temperatures. The UK had its hottest day ever, with temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius.

In Portugal, homes were burned and people had to escape. Residents like Marcio Rodrigues helped stop the fires.

Marcio Rodrigues: "We were in the village, where there were many people. We helped fight the flames near the village, which got really close. My uncle even had his house in danger. He stayed inside and the fire passed over him and he managed to save himself."

In one area of France, 14,000 people left homes in danger. Fires there are being fought by 1,200 firefighters and 5 planes.

The heat's causing deaths in the Alps too. Part of Italy's Marmolada glacier broke off in July and 11 people were killed.

High temperatures are also causing problems for tens of millions in the US. Cities in the traditionally cold northwest US have opened cooling stations. They're trying to help people in danger.

And forest fires in California are getting closer to Yosemite National Park. They could burn the park's famous giant redwoods.

Climate change is causing higher temperatures. The Climate Clock shows when we need to reach zero carbon. On 22 July, we only had 7 years left.