As numerous countries around the world face record high temperatures, many places in Europe are dealing with massive wildfires.
Two of the worst hit counties recently have been France and Spain. Both counties have been attempting to battle massive fires that have been fueled by intense heat waves, only made worse by climate change.
The worrying thing is that it is only the middle of July, which could mean that the heat is here to stay for some time. This means that if the fires are not brought under control quickly, or if new ones are sparked, the disaster could continue for quite some time.
More and more firefighters are being sent to blazes that are rapidly spreading. This is due, in large part, to the record heat sapping the moisture from trees, leading them to literally explode in some cases, which only leads to fires spreading faster.
Multiple deaths and thousands of evacuations have already occurred because of these wildfires. Countless structures have also been consumed by the fires, leaving residents to return to their whole lives reduced to ashes.
While some countries, like Portugal, have made more progress than others, it is likely that the battle will rage on for a while. This will mean that there will almost certainly be much more death and destruction to come.
While no one fire can be directly linked to climate change, the issue of increasing numbers, and the length of time of which they burn, certainly can be. Governments that refuse to take climate change seriously and make cuts to emissions are culpable, at least large in part.
The world is already far behind where it has to be to keep living in even relative peace on this planet that we have so grossly mismanaged. We must begin to actually get serious about making true changes, from the highest to the lowest level (obviously large corporations are the ones most at fault, but every little bit contributes to the whole).
To make these changes happen, it is clear that social media post will never be enough. Citizens must engage in direct action campaigns, and these movements must never cease until responsible stewardship of the planet is achieved.