Wildfires rage in Turkiye, France as early heatwave hits
In Turkey, wildfires raged for a second day in the western province of Izmir, fanned by strong winds, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said, forcing the evacuation of four villages and two town neighbourhoods.
Turkey's coastal regions have in recent years been ravaged by wildfires as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists say is a result of human-induced climate change.
In France, where temperatures are expected to peak on Tuesday and Wednesday, wildfires broke out on Sunday in the southwestern Aude department, where temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius, burning 400 hectares and forcing the evacuation of a campsite and an abbey, authorities said.
The fires were under control but not yet extinguished, authorities said on Monday.
Weather service Meteo France put a record 84 of the country's 101 departments on an orange heatwave alert from Monday until midweek. About 200 schools will be at least partially shut over the next three days because of the heat, the Education Ministry said.
Authorities sent out heat alerts across the region.
Spain is on course for its hottest June on record, the national meteorological service AEMET said, forecasting the peak of the heatwave on Monday.
"Over the next few days, at least until Thursday, intense heat will continue in much of Spain," said Ruben del Campo, a spokesperson for the weather agency.
In Seville, southern Spain, where global leaders were gathering for a United Nations conference, temperatures were expected to hit 42 C.
"It's awful," municipal worker Bernabe Rufo said as he cleaned a fountain. "We need to be looking for shade constantly."
Tourists were also seeking ways to cope with the heat.
"I guess water, water and shade, water and shade," said 51-year-old visitor Nicole Shift, who got up early to enjoy Seville's historic sites before the heat got too intense.
In Italy, the Health Ministry issued heatwave red alerts for 16 cities. Weather website IlMeteo.it said temperatures on Monday would go as high as 41 C in Florence, 38 C in Bologna and 37 C in Perugia.
The Lombardy region, part of Italy's northern industrial heartland, is planning to ban open-air work in the hottest part of the day, heeding a request from trade unions, its president said.
Even in the Netherlands, usually cooler than many other parts of Europe, the Royal Meteorological Institute warned temperatures could reach 35-40 C in parts of the country in the coming days, with high humidity. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
11 hours ago
- Observer
HEATWAVE HAVOC: EUROPE'S NEW SUMMER REALITY
Forecasters were warning of dangerous temperatures in Central Europe, as the extreme heat that has stifled the western part of the continent began to move east. The heat wave that began over a week ago has brought record temperatures and unbearable conditions for many people in Europe, particularly those working outdoors. Four people have died in Spain, which along with France bore the brunt of the severe conditions at the start of the week. While temperatures in Spain had eased slightly on Thursday, the mercury was rising in countries in Central and Eastern Europe — prompting health ministries and weather agencies to issue alerts. Wildfires continued to remain a threat in Greece, as hot and dry conditions persisted. Which countries are affected? A young woman holds her head into the cool water of a fountain at the Lustgarten park on Museum Island in Berlin, as temperatures were predicted to reach up to 37 degrees Celsius. — AFP SPAIN: Authorities in Spain have reported four deaths in recent days — two people whose deaths were linked to the heat and two others who died in wildfires. Firefighters were still battling a number of blazes, including one that authorities in Catalonia described as a 'megafire,' which was producing an 8-mile-high column of smoke. While temperatures were starting to decrease slightly, weather warnings remained in place for nine of Spain's regions. Temperatures were expected to rise to as high as 42 degrees Celsius, in Seville. However, a sharp drop in temperatures was expected in the southwestern third of the peninsula and to a lesser extent in the eastern third. Earlier in the week, AEMET, Spain's state meteorological agency, recorded temperatures that climbed above 109 degrees Fahrenheit, or 43 Celsius. The mercury reached 114.8 Fahrenheit, or 46 Celsius, on Saturday in El Granado, in the southwest — a national record for June. A person holds a hand fan in front of the Royal Palace during a heatwave in Madrid. — AFP ITALY: The health ministry put 18 cities — including Rome and Milan — under the highest-level heat alert, which signals emergency heat conditions that pose health risks, even to healthy and active individuals. FRANCE: Météo-France, the national weather service, said the temperature rose to just over 40 degrees Celsius, in Mourmelon-le-Grand on Wednesday — the highest of the day in France. But temperatures cooled overnight, bringing some respite for most of the country after days of extreme heat. The top of the Eiffel Tower, which had been closed all week because of the heat wave, reopened on Thursday. Southeastern France was still experiencing extreme heat, however, with forecasters predicting highs of up to 36 degrees Celsius, or 97 Fahrenheit. A woman leaves her umbrella while she takes a picture in Ronda, southern Spain during the first heatwave of the summer. — AFP CENTRAL EUROPE: Parts of southern Austria remained under a red warning for extreme heat stress for a second consecutive day, with temperatures expected to climb to as high as 38 Celsius, or roughly 100 Fahrenheit. However, forecasters predicted some relief would come on Friday, when temperatures were expected to fall slightly. Some parts of Germany were already beginning to cool after experiencing highs of up to 40 degrees Celsius, in places. In Serbia, the weather agency issued red warnings for extreme heat for three eastern regions. It predicted that the conditions would last at least five consecutive days, with temperatures forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius, — well above the county's average July high of 30 Celsius. Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were also under the highest-level alerts for extreme temperatures. Highs of up to 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 Fahrenheit, were expected. Croatia's weather service also warned of extremely high temperatures, saying that some areas could experience highs of 34 degrees Celsius. A woman uses a parasol to shield herself from the sun while looking at the landscape in Ronda, southern Spain, as the first summer heatwave continues to scorch the country. — AFP Has the heat led to wildfires? High temperatures and drought conditions have fuelled wildfires in Spain and other parts of Europe. Greek authorities said that arid conditions had exacerbated a wildfire on the island of Crete and that gale-force winds were making it difficult for firefighters to bring the blaze under control. A fire on the island of Khíos earlier this week burned 6,000 hectares, or nearly 15,000 acres, of forest. In Portugal, four active wildfires were burning in the north and central regions of the country on Thursday, according to Fogos, which collects data to map wildfires in Portugal. Wildfires in five districts in Türkiye forced the temporary evacuation of more than 50,000 people, the country's emergency management authority said on social media. One person was hospitalised and 79 people were treated for minor injuries, the emergency service said. How unusual is the heat? Temperatures are well above seasonal norms. Temperatures in Tor Vergata, a southeastern suburb of Rome, for example, were above 106 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday afternoon. Summers in Rome typically experience average highs of 86 Fahrenheit. But as the planet continues to warm, what was once rare has become frequent. Meteorologists say Europe should expect more and hotter heat waves as a result of climate change. What are some safety tips for heat? If air conditioning is difficult to find, experts advise, use water to cool down. Staying hydrated is crucial and dampening skin with mist or a wet towel can also help. At home, experts suggest, limit sunlight, particularly in the afternoon, by blocking out windows with a blanket or dark sheet. Leaving windows open at night, where possible and running fans are also tips. Behaviour matters, too. Try to avoid heavy exercise outdoors and try not to use an oven. Experts also recommend staying alert to signs of heat exhaustion (which include heavy sweating, cold or clammy skin, a fast or weak pulse, and fainting) and heat stroke (which can cause a body temperature of over 103 degrees Fahrenheit, hot skin, confusion and fainting). And keep pets and children cool by monitoring their activity, giving them water and cooling them off with wet towels. — The New York Times
Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Greece wildfire rages on Crete
ATHENS: A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists, officials said on Thursday. Hot dry weather in Greece — not unusual for this time of year — has heightened the risk of a repeat of summer wildfires that have hit the country in recent years, while Turkey, although spared from the recent heatwaves that gripped southern Europe, has battled the effects of a long-term drought brought on by climate change. On Crete, about 5,000 people were evacuated in response to a blaze that broke out on Wednesday evening, the president of the regional hotels' association said on Thursday. Yorgos Tzarakis said about 3,000 tourists and 2,000 residents had been moved, mostly overnight, as a "precaution" from areas close to the Crete resort town of Ierapetra. Earlier, vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis told Greek broadcaster Mega confirmed "evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra," in the southeast. The authorities acted because water bomber planes could not reach the affected areas overnight, he added. "At the moment, there are three active fronts," Androulakis said. "Because of the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly." Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to tackle the blaze, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service. They include reinforcements sent in from the capital, Athens. "There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops," he said. "The winds are very strong -- up to nine on the Beaufort scale." In Crete, Greece's largest island, the arid, uneven landscape criss-crossed by gullies, has made it difficult for firefighters to tackle the blaze. The fire damaged houses and crops in fruit and vegetable greenhouses, media reports said. Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra — a seaside resort with a population of 23,000 — takes in thousands of tourists in the summer. The risk of fires was "considerable" in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece, Vathrakoyannis said. The country recorded its hottest-ever summer last year when 45,000 hectares of land was burned, according to WWF Greece and the Athens National Observatory. In terms of surface area destroyed, 2023 was the worst on record. Nearly 175,000 hectares were obliterated and 20 people died during heatwaves when temperatures rose in places to 46 degrees Celsius. — AFP
Observer
3 days ago
- Observer
Two dead as France registers second-hottest June on record
Paris: Two people died in France as a result of "heat-related illness", said the minister for ecological transition on Wednesday, as the country registered its second-hottest June since records began in 1900. A heatwave across Europe this week broke high temperature records, leading to the closure of nearly 2,000 schools in France at midday on Tuesday. "More than 300 people have been treated by firefighters and two have died following heat-related illnesses," ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Wednesday. "June 2025 has become the second hottest June since records began in 1900, behind June 2003," she added. T emperatures in June 2025 were 3.3 degrees Celsius higher than the seasonal average compared to 3.6 degrees Celsius in June 2003, her office said. Meteo-France said June 30 was the hottest day in June since measurements began in 1947, beating the previous record set in 2019. Relief will start to arrive from the Atlantic on Wednesday, bringing thunderstorms and cooler temperatures to parts of western Europe.
