a new president, after mass protests drove ex president rajapaksa to resign and flee the country. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. temperatures are soaring across continental europe with wildfires burning in parts of france, spain and portugal. strong winds and tinder dry conditions are fuelling the flames. more than 300 people are known now to have died in spain and portugal due to the high temperatures. more than 12,000 people have been evacuated so far in france s gironde region as fires continue to burn out of control. in southern spain, near the costa del sol, about 2,300 people had to flee a wildfire spreading in the mijas hills. and it comes as a national emergency has been declared in the uk after a red extreme heat warning was issued for the first time as temperatures could hit a0 degrees celsius. mark lobel has our first report. it s still sweltering in south western europe where wildfires have come sooner, more intense, frequent
we are all being advised to take care. graham satchell, bbc news. it s notjust humans who ll be feeling the heat this week animals will be, too. and animal welfare charities are warning us to look out for our pets. joining me now is dr sam gaines who s head of the companion animals team at the rspca a charity that promotes animal welfare in england and wales. it s good to have you with us. yes, we have been talking so much how as humans we need to take care in this extreme heat. what are the key things we need to be doing to look after our animals? things we need to be doing to look after our animals? good morning. the rspca is urging after our animals? good morning. the rspca is urging people after our animals? good morning. the rspca is urging people to after our animals? good morning. the rspca is urging people to exercise - rspca is urging people to exercise real caution in the coming days with the heatwave for our pets and wildlife. 0ur pets, it is critical to make su
access for a couple of days, it s fine. there are lots of things they can do. keep them mentally stimulated, treats, mental stimulation, put out things like paddling pools. people, it is much safer to keep them at home and not have exercise over the next few days and if you do have to take them out for whatever eve reason, make sure they going out in the early morning or late night. some dogs that are overweight, elderly or have other conditions will be even more susceptible to the warmth. looking for si . ns of susceptible to the warmth. looking for signs of stress susceptible to the warmth. looking for signs of stress in susceptible to the warmth. looking for signs of stress in their - for signs of stress in their animals, what typically would they be seeing? what should they look out for? , ., , ., ., ., ., ., for? there is lots of information on the rspca website for? there is lots of information on the rspca website about for? there is lots of information on the rspca webs