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Canada News.Net
13 hours ago
- Climate
- Canada News.Net
Southern Europe battles deadly wildfires amid record heatwave
PATRAS, Greece,/MADRID: Wildfires intensified across southern Europe, with extreme heat, strong winds, and suspected arson driving blazes that have destroyed homes, disrupted transport, and forced thousands of residents and tourists to flee. Nearly 440,000 hectares have burned in the eurozone so far in 2025, twice the average for this time of year since 2006, according to the EU Science Hub's Joint Research Centre. In Greece, flames swept through olive groves, forests, and industrial areas near the city of Patras, igniting a cement factory and halting rail traffic. Authorities evacuated a nearby town of 7,700 residents on August 12 and issued fresh evacuation orders for two nearby villages the next day. Fires also prompted evacuations on the tourist islands of Chios and Cephalonia. "What does it look like? It looks like doomsday," said volunteer Giorgos Karvanis, who traveled from Athens to help in Patras. Spain reported its sixth wildfire-related death this year after a volunteer firefighter was trapped while creating firebreaks near Nogarejas in Castile and Leon. Several others were hospitalized as the national weather agency AEMET warned that almost the entire country faced extreme fire risk. Authorities across the region are warning that unprepared landscapes are making firefighting even more dangerous. Alexander Held of the European Forest Institute said investment in preventative measures like buffer zones and vegetation clearing could save billions in future firefighting and restoration costs. Spanish Environment Minister Sara Aagesen said many fires appeared to be deliberately set. Recent arrests include a firefighter in Avila and a woman in Galicia's Muxia area. Police are also investigating a suspect with burns who is believed to have started a blaze in Cadiz. Not all fires are man-made. Lightning strikes sparked blazes in Spain's Huelva province and in Trancoso, Portugal, where flames reignited previously contained areas. Both incidents prompted evacuations. In Albania, Defence Minister Pirro Vengu described the week as "critical" as 24 major wildfires burned nationwide. Flames reached two central villages, forcing residents to flee with their livestock. "We are going in the middle of two rivers because the fire has arrived… it is like gunpowder," said evacuee Hajri Dragoti. Spain is now in its 10th day of a heatwave, with temperatures peaking at 45 degrees Centigrade (113 degrees Fahrenheit) and expected to continue until August 18, one of the longest on record. In Italy, the health ministry issued extreme heat warnings for 16 cities, with Florence forecast to hit 39 degrees Centigrade (102 degrees Fahrenheit). Pope Leo moved his weekly audience indoors at the Vatican to escape the intense sun.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Wildfires blaze across Europe
The EU said today that it is working "non-stop" to support countries battling wildfires raging across European countries. Extreme summer heat, which scientists say human-driven climate change is exacerbating, has fuelled blazes in Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Balkans. Heat alerts have also been issued in Italy, France and England - and a climate expert today warned that we can expect these fires to move further north over time. In some regions, firefighters are making strong gains - Turkey has reported a substantial reduction in blazes - while others, notably Spain and Greece, are still in the grip of a lethal and escalating crisis. Spain has has been battling the blazes for ten days. Fire has affected nearly 440,000 hectares in the eurozone so far in 2025, double the average for the same period of the year since 2006, according to the EU Science Hub's Joint Research Centre. Spain today mourned its third wildfire death this week, and activated an EU emergency facility to get help to tackle the blazes. While Greece has been beating back a blaze threatening its third-largest city Patras as an unrelenting heatwave stoked tinderbox conditions in southern Europe. Authorities across European countries have cited multiple causes for the massive fires, including careless farming practices, improperly maintained power cables and summer lightning storms. But there have also been multiple reports of arson, including in Spain and North Macedonia, where rogue developers have been accused of deliberately starting blazes. Lessons for Ireland Climatologist John Sweeney, who is Emeritus Professor of Geography at Maynooth University, said that the Mediterranean Basin "is a major hotspot for climate change globally, as desiccation in summer months makes it vulnerable to ongoing fire damage". He told RTÉ News that "we can expect to see this spreading north as time goes on", adding that there are "some signs of that already in France", where there have been sporadic outbreaks of wildfire. The wildfires ravaging Europe are "part and parcel of what we would expect to see" with "Sahara-like conditions being transformed and translocated further north in Europe" - a process which is driven almost exclusively by man-made climate change. Prof Sweeney said that this has relevance for Ireland, where we already see some wildfires, although mostly gorse-related. But he urged that we should not rule out the potential risk posed in this jurisdiction by reduced or insufficient forest cover. EU response, Spain asks for help The EU said today that it is doing all it can to stop the blazes across the south of the continent. "We continue non-stop to work on the support of affected countries," spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova said. "Fighting wildfires is mainly the task for the member states, but we are here to help them and to assist them with our civil protection mechanism," she added. Under the mechanism, EU member states offer help to other countries on the continent and Brussels pays for the operations. So far during the current fire season it has been activated 16 times. Spain is availing of this support for the first time, and is being given two water bomber aircraft to help fight blazes in the worst hit areas. The Spanish government has also raised its national emergency response level, preparing additional support for regional authorities overseeing multiple evacuations and highway closures. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed condolences after the death of a firefighting volunteer in the hard-hit Castile and Leon region north of Madrid, where thousands have been displaced by evacuations. "The wildfire situation remains serious, and taking extra precautions is essential," Mr Sanchez wrote in an online post. "Thank you, once again, to all those working tirelessly to fight the flames." Evacuation centres have been filled to capacity in parts of central Spain, as the most severe fires pushed northward into more rural areas, where some residents hosed the walls of their homes to try to protect them from fire. Isabel Moreno, a meteorologist based in Madrid. said that at a time of year when temperatures of 32C might be expected they are climbing to 40C. But she told RTE's Today with Colm Ó Mongain: "We know how to manage these kind of temperatures". Greece Greece has been hard hit, as wildfires intensified right across southern Europe, after a night-long battle to protect the perimeter of the country's third-largest city. Greek firefighting resources have been stretched thin by relentless battles against multiple outbreaks following weeks of heatwaves and temperature spikes across the Mediterranean, and there is no sign of things easing up. Outside the port city of Patras, firefighters struggled to protect homes and agricultural facilities as flames tore through pine forests and olive groves. Tall columns of flames exploded behind apartment blocks on the outskirts of the city, while dozens of vehicles were torched as flames swept through a nearby impound lot. "Today is another very difficult day with the level of fire risk remaining very high across many parts of the country," a fire service spokesman said. As water-dropping planes and helicopters swooped overhead, residents joined the effort, beating back flames with cut branches or dousing them with buckets of water. On the island of Chios, exhausted firefighters slept on the roadside following a night-long shift. Aircraft rotated between blazes on the western Greek mainland, the Patras area and the island of Zakynthos. Balkans: Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro Despite being under extreme pressure itself, Athens sent assistance to neighbouring Albania, joining an international effort to combat dozens of wildfires in the hard-hit nation. An 80-year-old man died in one blaze south of the capital Tirana, officials said. Residents of four villages were evacuated in central Albania near a former army ammunition depot. In the southern Korca district, near the Greek border, explosions were reported from buried Second World War-era artillery shells. Authorities said dozens of homes were gutted in a central region of the country. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials in North Macedonia cited indications of arson, motivated by rogue developers. Firefighters also struggled to contain a blaze at a nature reserve outside the capital Skopje. The European Union has rushed aid to fire-hit countries, including non-member states, with ground crews and water-dropping aircraft, with much of it being concentrated on Montenegro, where major wildfires continued to burn in rugged areas near the capital Podgorica. "Natural disasters know no borders," Ljuban Tmusic, head of Montenegro's civil protection agency, said. "In Montenegro the resources we have … are clearly not enough." Turkey A forestry worker was killed yesterday while responding to a wildfire in southern Turkey, officials said. The Forestry Ministry said the worker died in an accident involving a fire engine that left four others injured. Turkey has been battling severe wildfires since late June, and a total of 18 people have been killed, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers who died in July. However, things look better here than they do for Spain or Greece, with the government saying that most of the blazes have been contained, including a large fire in the northwestern province of Canakkale that forced hundreds to flee from their homes. Both Canakkale airport and the Dardanelles Strait, which connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara, were temporarily shut due to the wildfires on Monday. They have since reopened. France, England In France, which is recovering from massive recent fires in the southern regions, temperatures of up to 42C are expected for the third consecutive day. Officials issued weather alerts giving local authorities discretion to cancel public events and cordon off areas with high fire risks. Heat health alerts have also been extended into next week for much of England after the fourth heatwave of the summer brought thunderstorms and showers. The UK Health Security Agency said yellow warnings will now be in place in Yorkshire and Humber, the East and West Midlands, London, the South East and South West and East of England until 6pm next Monday, 18 August. The warnings mean significant impacts on health and social care services are possible due to high temperatures, including a potential rise in deaths among the elderly or those with pre-existing health conditions. Alerts had been previously due to end at 6pm yesterday. Gerard Mills is a physical geographer based at UCD. He told RTÉ's Today with Colm Ó Mongain that no evaporation occurs in cities, which pushes up temperatures. People die in cities because of the heat usually die in their homes, he said, because they become too hot. Going forward, he urged the use of a dual approach, reducing temperatures inside homes, and also in outdoor areas.
Dubai Eye
2 days ago
- Climate
- Dubai Eye
Second volunteer dies battling wildfire in Spain's Leon province
A second volunteer firefighter who suffered severe burns while battling a wildfire in Spain's northern Leon province has died from his injuries, a government official said on Thursday, as several blazes continued across the country. "Today we mourn the death of another member of the team fighting fires in Leon," Nicanor Sen, the national government's representative in Castile and Leon - Spain's largest region - wrote in an X post. Local media identified the victim as 37-year-old Jaime Aparicio, who suffered burns to 85 per cent of his body after being trapped alongside another volunteer between two fronts near the town of Nogarejas, while they attempted to create firebreaks with brush cutters. His colleague Abel Ramos, 35, died on Tuesday, the sixth fatality linked to wildfires in Spain this year. On Monday, a separate fire killed a man on the outskirts of Madrid. Nearly two dozen blazes continued to rage in Spain on Thursday, fuelled by wind and extreme heat. Around 9,500 people were evacuated from their towns and hundreds ordered to stay at home. At least 14 roads were blocked, according to traffic authority DGT, and trains between Madrid and northwestern Galicia remained suspended, railway operator Adif said. Spain has asked for help from European partners to tackle the fires, requesting two Canadair water-bombing planes. Fire has affected nearly 440,000 hectares in the euro zone so far in 2025, twice the average for the period since 2006, according to the EU Science Hub's Joint Research Centre. Scientists say the climate change exacerbates the risk of wildfires in the Mediterranean region due to hotter and drier conditions. In Spain, record-breaking rainfall this spring after a prolonged drought accelerated vegetation growth, including undergrowth that becomes highly combustible in a dry summer.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Climate
- USA Today
Wildfires fanned by heatwave and strong winds rage across Europe
PATRAS, Greece,/MADRID, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee. Fire has affected nearly 440,000 hectares (1,700 square miles) in the eurozone so far in 2025, double the average for the same period of the year since 2006, according to the EU Science Hub's Joint Research Centre. Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic on the outskirts of the Greek city of Patras, west of Athens. "What does it look like? It looks like doomsday. May God help us and help the people here,' said Giorgos Karvanis, a volunteer who had come from Athens to Patras to help. Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave. More: European heatwave caused 2,300 deaths, scientists estimate On the Greek islands of Chios, in the east, and Cephalonia, in the west, both popular with tourists, authorities told people to move to safety as fires spread. In Spain, a volunteer firefighter died from severe burns and several people were hospitalised as state weather agency AEMET warned that almost all of the country was at extreme or very high risk of fire. The 35-year-old man had been attempting to create firebreaks near the town of Nogarejas, in the central Castile and Leon region, when he was trapped in the blaze, regional officials said. He was the sixth person to die this year in wildfires in Spain. Others include two firefighters in Tarragona and Avila, according to emergency services. Working in unprepared landscapes puts firefighters' lives at risk, said Alexander Held, a senior expert in fire management at the European Forest Institute, adding authorities should prepare by creating buffer zones and clearing combustible vegetation. "Take an industrial building and imagine there would be no fire detectors, no sprinkler systems, no fire protection doors and no escape routes – firefighters would just refuse to go in, but in our landscape we expect them to do this," Held said. Investing 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) a year in forest management could save 9.9 million hectares - an area the size of Portugal - and 99 billion euros spent on fighting fires and restoration work afterwards, according to Greenpeace. SUSPECTED ARSON Spanish Environment Minister Sara Aagesen told the SER radio station that many fires across the country were thought to be the work of arsonists due to their "virulence". A male firefighter was arrested on Tuesday for fires started in the Avila area north of Madrid two weeks ago, while police said on Tuesday they were investigating a 63-year-old woman for allegedly starting fires in Galicia's Muxia area in August. Police have also identified a suspect who is believed to have suffered burns to his hands after starting a small fire in a beachfront development in the southern coastal Cadiz area, Europa Press reported. Thunderstorms have caused other fires. More: Wildfire north of Los Angeles forces thousands to flee; containment grows On Tuesday, shortly after 5 p.m., Andalusia's fire department was flooded with calls by residents reporting a fire caused by a lightning strike on a chestnut and oak forest in Los Romeros, north of the city of Huelva. The fire prompted the evacuation of around 250 residents but was largely controlled by Wednesday morning. A blaze in Trancoso in Portugal that has been burning since Saturday got worse during the night as a lightning reignited an area that was thought safe, the civil protection service said. In Albania, Defence Minister Pirro Vengu said it was a "critical week", with several major wildfires burning across the country. Some 10,000 firefighters, soldiers and police emergency units struggled with a total of 24 wildfires on Wednesday, the defence ministry said. Flames reached two villages in the centre of the country, forcing villagers to flee, taking their livestock with them. "We are going in the middle of two rivers because the fire has arrived," said Hajri Dragoti, 68, from Narte, who fled with his wife taking a cow, a donkey and a dog. "We can't do anything, it is like gunpowder." Spain was in its 10th day of a heatwave that peaked on Tuesday with temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), and which AEMET expected to last until Monday, making it one of the longest on record. Pope Leo moved his weekly audience from St. Peter's Square to an indoor venue in the Vatican, "to stay a little bit out of the sun and the extreme heat" as Italy's health ministry issued extreme heat warnings for 16 cities on Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to peak at 39C (102F) in Florence. ($1 = 0.8538 euros) (Reporting by Louiza Vradi, David Latona, Aislinn Laing, Ivana Sekularac, Ilse Filks, Andrei Khalip and Gavin Jones; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Alex Richardson and Giles Elgood)
Ammon
2 days ago
- Climate
- Ammon
Wildfires fanned by heatwave and strong winds rage across Europe
Ammon News - Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee. Fire has affected nearly 440,000 hectares (1,700 square miles) in the eurozone so far in 2025, double the average for the same period of the year since 2006, according to the EU Science Hub's Joint Research Centre. Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic on the outskirts of the Greek city of Patras, west of Athens. "What does it look like? It looks like doomsday. May God help us and help the people here,' said Giorgos Karvanis, a volunteer who had come from Athens to Patras to help. Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave. On the Greek islands of Chios, in the east, and Cephalonia, in the west, both popular with tourists, authorities told people to move to safety as fires spread. In Spain, a volunteer firefighter died from severe burns and several people were hospitalised as state weather agency AEMET warned that almost all of the country was at extreme or very high risk of fire. Working in unprepared landscapes puts firefighters' lives at risk, said Alexander Held, a senior expert in fire management at the European Forest Institute, adding authorities should prepare by creating buffer zones and clearing combustible vegetation. SUSPECTED ARSON Spanish Environment Minister Sara Aagesen told the SER radio station that many fires across the country were thought to be the work of arsonists due to their "virulence". In Albania, Defence Minister Pirro Vengu said it was a "critical week", with several major wildfires burning across the country. Some 10,000 firefighters, soldiers and police emergency units struggled with a total of 24 wildfires on Wednesday, the defence ministry said. Reuters
