Latest news with #ForestryMinister
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Climate
- Al Arabiya
Heavy snow hits Turkey's northeast as wildfires rage
A rare blanket of heavy snow fell on parts of northeastern Turkey on Friday as other parts of the country battled a growing number of wildfires. Experts say human-driven climate change is causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events, from droughts to heatwaves and hailstorms. Temperatures plunged in mountainous areas inland from Rize, a town on Turkey's northeastern Black Sea coast about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the border with Georgia. Gencaga Karafazlioglu, a journalist in Rize, said he had never before seen snow in July. 'In Rize, we're used to weather anomalies. We've had snow several times in March but never this much. The older generation say they saw snow in July 30 or 40 years ago but never this much.' In Ovit Yaylasi, a plateau some 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level, fields were blanketed in white after snowfall, social media footage showed. The snowfall covered an area stretching at least 100 kilometers, from Anzer Yaylasi through the Kackar Mountains National Park and beyond. 'The town of Artvin was the worst hit,' Karafazlioglu said. Artvin is about 50 kilometers inland. Elsewhere, firefighters battled at least 10 'major' forest fires on Friday, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told a press conference. The minister said that wildfires in Izmir province — where two people died on Thursday and temperatures were forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days — were now mainly under control. He added that flames fanned by strong winds that threatened Mugla in the southwest of the country and Hatay in the south were still a concern. Yumakli said there was an 'intense struggle' to control the blaze in Hatay, which is near the border with Syria. There had been 624 wildfires in the past week, many of them caused by faulty electric cables, he added. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 44 suspects had been arrested and 10 placed in detention over fires. He said that most were workers or farmers using machinery that had caused sparks.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Heavy snow hits Turkey's northeast as wildfires rage
A rare blanket of heavy snow fell on parts of northeastern Turkey on Friday as other parts of the country battled a growing number of wildfires. Experts say human-driven climate change is causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events, from droughts to heatwaves and hailstorms. Temperatures plunged in mountainous areas inland from Rize, a town on Turkey's northeastern Black Sea coast about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the border with Georgia. Gencaga Karafazlioglu, a journalist in Rize, said he had never before seen snow in July. "In Rize, we're used to weather anomalies. We've had snow several times in March but never this much. The older generation say they saw snow in July 30 or 40 years ago but never this much." In Ovit Yaylasi, a plateau some 2,500 metres (8,200 feet) above sea level, fields were blanketed in white after snowfall, social media footage showed. The snowfall covered an area stretching at least 100 kilometres, from Anzer Yaylasi through the Kackar Mountains National Park and beyond. "The town of Artvin was the worst hit," Karafazlioglu said. Artvin is about 50km inland. Elsewhere, firefighters battled at least 10 "major" forest fires on Friday, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told a press conference. The minister said that wildfires in Izmir province, where two people died on Thursday and temperatures were forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days, were now mainly under control. He added that flames fanned by strong winds that threatened Mugla in the southwest of the country and Hatay in the south were still a concern. Yumakli said there was an "intense struggle" to control the blaze in Hatay, which is near the border with Syria. There had been 624 wildfires in the past week and that many had been caused by faulty electric cables, he added. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 44 suspects had been arrested and 10 placed in detention over fires. He said that most were workers or farmers using machinery that had caused sparks. bur-hmw/ach/tw/phz
The National
5 days ago
- Climate
- The National
Wildfires rage in Turkey for third day
More than 50,000 people have been evacuated in western Turkey as wildfires continue to rage across the country for a third day. Fires have swept through the provinces of Sakarya, Bilecik, Manisa, Hatay and Izmir – where tens of thousands were relocated to safe areas, according to Turkey's disaster management agency. Firefighters are battling to contain the flames, which have been fuelled by winds reaching 40-50kph, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said. According to Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu, 46 Turkish citizens are being treated in hospital, with one person critically injured. 'Firefighting efforts are continuing tirelessly in response to the fires,' he said in a post on X. 'I pray to God for a speedy recovery for all our injured.' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a cabinet meeting that the fires were being tackled by 'our fleet of 27 aeroplanes, 105 helicopters, 14 UAVs, nearly 6,000 tenders, and 25,000 forest heroes'. Turkey's coastal regions have in recent years been ravaged by wildfires due to hotter and drier summers, which scientists attribute to climate change. Footage on social media showed hills covered in thick smoke and trees ablaze as helicopters above released water in an attempt to extinguish the flames. It comes amid a heatwave throughout Mediterranean and other parts of Europe. Health alerts have been issued in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany. Even the Netherlands, typically associated with a milder climate, has issued warnings about high temperatures and high humidity over the coming days. Fires have also been spreading through Syria's Latakia province, where Minister of Disaster Management and Emergency Response Raed Al Saleh was inspecting the damage on Tuesday.
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfires burn in Turkey, France as early heat wave hits parts of Europe
Wildfires burn in Turkey's Izmir province 1 hour ago Duration 0:34 Social Sharing Firefighters battled wildfires in Turkey and France on Monday as an early heat wave hit the region. 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 towns. 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 C, burning 400 hectares and forcing the evacuation of a campsite and an abbey, authorities said. The fires were under control but not yet extinguished, officials said on Monday. Weather service Meteo France put a record 84 of the country's 101 departments on an orange heat wave 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. Heat wave felt across Europe Authorities sent out heat alerts across Europe. Spain is on course for its hottest June on record, the national meteorological service AEMET said, forecasting the peak of the heat wave 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." WATCH | Tourists look for shade as parts of Europe grapple with heat wave: Europe sweltering under early summer heat dome 1 hour ago Duration 4:01 Major cities and tourist destinations across Europe are recording unusually high temperatures as June draws to a close. In southern Europe, the hot, dry weather created conditions for wildfires. 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 heat wave red alerts for 16 cities. Weather website 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 to 40 C in parts of the country in the coming days, with high humidity. Amsterdam extended opening hours at homeless shelters. Some 480,000 killed globally in extreme heat In Germany, too, heat warnings were in place across large parts of western and southwestern regions on Monday, where temperatures climbed to up to 34 C. Authorities appealed to consumers to limit their use of water. Temperatures were expected to peak by the middle of the week. The heat wave has lowered water levels on the Rhine River, hampering shipping and raising freight costs for cargo owners, commodity traders said. German and French baseload power prices for Tuesday surged as the heat wave led to increased demand for cooling. Heat can affect health in various ways, and experts are most concerned about older people and babies, as well as outdoor labourers and people struggling economically. Globally, extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually, surpassing the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, and it poses growing risks to infrastructure, the economy and health-care systems, Swiss Re said earlier this month. Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 C higher than in the pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said earlier this month.
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Climate
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Wildfires fanned by strong winds scorch Turkiye's Izmir
Published On 30 Jun 2025 30 Jun 2025 Firefighters are battling wildfires for the second day in Turkiye's western province of Izmir, according to local authorities and media reports. The blaze in Kuyucak and Doganbey areas of Izmir was fanned overnight by winds reaching 40-50kmph (25-30mph), and four villages and two neighbourhoods had been evacuated, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said on Monday. Helicopters, fire-extinguishing aircraft and other vehicles, and more than 1,000 people were trying to extinguish the fires, he told reporters in Izmir. Turkiye's coastal regions have been ravaged by wildfires in recent years as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists relate to climate change.
