Wildfires kill dozens as extreme heat sweeps across Algeria, Turkey, Europe

Extreme heat waves exacerbated by the climate crisis, according to scientists, are sweeping across Southern Europe and the Mediterranean this month, causing intense wildfires across the region.

A wildfire that has been raging in Algeria over the last few days has been contained, state TV reported on Wednesday. Authorities said around 8,000 firefighters were deployed across the country to bring the fires under control.

According to the Interior Ministry, 97 fires in 16 provinces killed 34 people, including 10 soldiers who were fighting the flames in the northeastern province of Bejaia. Another 1,500 people were forced to evacuate their homes.

Algeria battles wildfires every summer, but these fires have worsened due to climate change, according to Relief Web. In August 2022, at least 100 fires burned across the country, killing 43 people and injuring more than 200 others.

Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, the massive fires in Algeria spread to neighboring Tunisia, including to the forests of Tabarka, Jendouba, Beja, Bizerte and Siliana. Reuters reported temperatures reaching as high as 49 degrees Celsius (120.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas on the Algeria-Tunisia border. Speaking to parliament on Wednesday, Tunisian Interior Minister Kamel Feki said the wildfires have also been contained in the country and around 600 people who were evacuated have returned to their homes.

Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires across Turkey, where record high temperatures hit above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), have been recorded in several provinces. Multiple fires broke out in Istanbul’s Beykoz district and the Aegean province of Izmir today. Turkish emergency teams are also trying to contain the wildfire that broke out in Turkey’s Mediterranean Riviera on Tuesday.

Greece has also been fighting extreme wildfires for a week now, including on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu, where tens of thousands of people were evacuated. On Tuesday, three people were reported dead due to the fires. The Greek air force said two pilots were killed when their firefighting plane crashed on the island of Evia, east of Athens. Another man was found burned in a shack, also in Evia.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of difficult days ahead as temperatures are expected to remain high.

“All of us are standing guard,” he told Greek ministers Tuesday. “In the face of what the entire planet is facing — especially the Mediterranean, which is a climate change hot spot — there is no magical defense mechanism.”

Spain, Portugal and Italy are also fighting wildfires.

Multiple wildfires hit several regions in Syria last week. On Tuesday, a fire broke out in the eastern province of Latakia as temperatures recorded a high of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas of the country.

In neighboring Lebanon, the country’s Civil Defense issued on Wednesday a warning for citizens to abide by public safety guidelines amid record-breaking temperatures in the country. In a tweet today, the Civil Defense said its firefighters have managed to extinguish 100 fires that burned in various areas of the country over the past few days.