Heat wave scorches parts of Europe and fans wildfire threat in France

Japan Today

16 hours ago

People cool off under showers at Paris Plage along the Seine river in Paris, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
By THOMAS ADAMSON
A heat wave gripped parts of Europe on Monday, sending temperatures up to 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 Fahrenheit) in southern France and increasing risks of wildfires in wine country, while Bulgaria suffered blazes along its southern borders as Hungary saw record-breaking weekend temperatures and fires caused evacuations in Turkey's northwest.
Scientists say Europe is becoming the world's fastest-warming continent.
According to the U.K.-based Carbon Brief, 2025 is predicted to be the second- or third-warmest year on record. Europe's land temperatures have risen about 2.3 C above pre-industrial levels, nearly twice the global rate, intensifying heat waves, the EU's Copernicus climate service reports. EU data show burned area across the continent is already far above the long-term average this summer, with major outbreaks in Spain, Portugal and deadly blazes in Greece since late June.
On Monday, the French national weather authority, Météo-France, placed 12 departments on red alert, the country's highest heat warning, anticipating exceptional heat stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean plains. Forty-one other departments were under lower-level orange alerts, as was the neighboring microstate of Andorra, between France and Spain.
'Don't be fooled — this isn't 'normal, it's summer.' It's not normal, it's a nightmare,' agricultural climatologist Serge Zaka, told BFMTV from Montauban in France's Tarn-et-Garonne department, where the blistering heat pressed relentlessly throughout the day.
Social media images showed shuttered streets in Valence, residents shielding windows with foil to reflect the light, and tourists huddling under umbrellas along the Garonne in Toulouse. Across the south, café terraces stood empty as people sought cooler corners indoors.
In France's Aude department, a patchwork of vineyards and Mediterranean scrubland, hundreds of firefighters remained in the rolling wine country guarding the edges of a massive, deadly blaze that scorched 16,000 hectares last week. Officials say the fire is under control but warn it will not be fully extinguished for weeks, with hot spots still smoldering and at risk of reigniting.
The red alert in France has been issued only eight times since it was created in 2004 after a deadly summer the year before. It is reserved for extreme, prolonged heat with major health risks and the potential to disrupt daily life. The designation gives local officials powers to cancel outdoor events, close public venues and alter school or summer camp schedules.
The heat wave, France's second of the summer, began Friday and is expected to last all week, carrying into the Aug. 15 holiday weekend. It is already pushing northward, with 38 C (100.4 F) forecast in the Centre-Val de Loire region and up to 34 C (93.2 F) in Paris.
Across the English Channel, the U.K.'s Met Office expects the country's fourth heat wave of the summer to peak around 33 C (90 F) in London on Tuesday. The U.K. Health Security Agency issued a yellow health alert for older adults and those with medical conditions.
In Bulgaria, temperatures were expected to exceed 40 C (104 F) Monday at the day's peak, with maximum fire danger alerts in place.
Nearly 200 fires have been reported; most have been brought under control, localized and extinguished, but the situation remains 'very challenging,' said Alexander Dzhartov, head of the national fire safety unit. Three major blazes continue along the borders with Greece and Turkey, including one near Strumyani that reignited after three weeks.
More than 100 firefighters and emergency personnel are battling flames in rugged terrain unreachable by vehicles, supported by army helicopters and two Swedish aircraft.
In Turkey, a wildfire fueled by high temperatures and strong winds forced authorities to evacuate holiday homes and a university campus and to suspend maritime traffic in the country's northwest.
The fire broke out in an agricultural field in the province of Canakkale and spread into surrounding forestland, just two days after firefighting teams had contained a similar blaze in the area. Canakkale Gov. Omer Toraman said the Dardanelles Strait — the narrow waterway linking the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara — was closed to allow water-dropping planes and helicopters to operate safely.
Sunday brought a new national high of 39.9 C (104 F) on Sunday in the southeast, breaking a record set in 1948. Budapest also recorded a city record at 38.7 C (101.6 F).
Authorities imposed a nationwide fire ban amid extreme heat and drought.
__
Lydia Doye in London, Justin Spike in Budapest, and Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.