They left dozens of people dead, swathes of land burned, and a nation traumatised. As recent wildfires in Portugal focus minds on this natural hazard, our team explores the reasons for the deadly blazes; how Portuguese people are working to limit the risks; and why the global warming already threatening lives in southwest Europe could be just a sign of things to come for the rest of the continent.
In part one of our show, we speak with MEP Nuno Melo, from the conservative PPE group, to discuss who was to blame for the fires of 2017, and how to prevent a repeat.
Francisco Ferreira, president of the environmental protection group "ZERO", tells us about the need for sustainable forest management.
And our reports look at how reducing the future fire risk goes hand in hand with regenerating Portugal's forests, as well as how the EU is expanding its pooled firefighting resources to meet the growing threats posed by a drier, hotter climate.
