The fires triggered the largest known deployment of the EU’s civil protection firefighting force, and with rising average temperatures climate scientists predict that things are only going to get worse. Perversely, the fires themselves are adding to the problem by releasing even more planet-warming carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere.

Locals are becoming increasingly frustrated – and terrified – by the lack of action on climate change and the devastating fires it is fuelling. Here we see protestors holding placards reading “No more fires” in Verin, Spain, an area that had suffered a 16-day-long heatwave that summer.

Liked this? Click the Like button above. And click the Follow button above for more great stories from loveEXPLORING

Read on to discover the incredible places that will be underwater by 2050

The terrible impact of the climate crisis revealed in heartbreaking images