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MADRID (AP) \u2014 An uncontrolled wildfire burned outside Madrid on Thursday, sending a giant cloud of smoke over the Spanish capital.<\/p>\n
The fire broke out in the town of Mentrida in central Spain’s Castile-La Mancha region about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital. Local authorities urged residents to stay home and close their windows.<\/p>\n
Spanish authorities said the blaze had burned around 3,000 hectares (roughly 7,400 acres) by the late evening.<\/p>\n
Firefighters deployed on the ground and in the air were working to extinguish the fire that began around 3 pm.<\/p>\n
Wind blew the smoke over Madrid, where in the afternoon skies turned orange and thick with smoke.<\/p>\n
Large parts of Spain are under heat and fire warnings,<\/a> with temperatures on Thursday reaching 37 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in Madrid.<\/p>\n Europe is the world\u2019s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing<\/a> at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union\u2019s Copernicus Climate Change Service.<\/p>\n Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, which makes places more vulnerable to wildfires.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n