Wildfires burn in Turkey and France as early heatwave hits
ISTANBUL/PARIS, June 30 (Reuters) - Firefighters battled wildfires in Turkey and France on Monday as an early heatwave hit the region.
In Turkey, the 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 neighbourhoods.
Media footage showed teams using tractors with water trailers and helicopters carrying water, as smoke billowed over hills marked with charred trees.
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 (104 degrees Fahrenheit), burning 400 hectares and forcing the evacuation of a campsite and an abbey, authorities and local media 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.
The heatwave has lowered water levels on Germany's Rhine River, hampering shipping and raising freight costs for cargo owners, commodity traders said.
The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals and oil products. Forecasters said temperatures as high as 40 C are possible in Cologne.
In Seville, southern Spain, where global leaders were gathering for a United Nations conference, temperatures were expected to hit 42 C.
Tourists were trying to deal with the heat. "Really hard currently," Mehrzad Joussefi, from the Netherlands, said.
Spain is on course for its hottest June on record, the national meteorological service AEMET said.
Most of the country remains under alert for heat, with AEMET 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.
Italy's Health Ministry issued heatwave red alerts for 21 cities, including Rome and Milan. Weather forecast 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 times of the day, heeding a request from trade unions, its president said on Monday.
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 poses growing risks to infrastructure, the economy and healthcare systems, Swiss Re said earlier this month.
Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 C higher than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said earlier this month.
Scientists say the main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Last year was the planet's hottest on record.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Your photos: The West Midlands feels the heat as temps top 30C
The West Midlands has been feeling the heat, with temperatures over 30C (86F) in many areas on could be one of the hottest June days on record, but temperatures are forecast to fall as the week goes on. The UK Health Security Agency has said the hot weather is likely to have a "significant impact" on health and social care services and has upgraded its weather warning for the West Midlands to said the high temperatures would also mean increased health risks for over-65s and younger people, thereby increasing demand for healthcare warning is expected to remain in place until Wednesday morning. Fire services around the region have asked people to be careful with outdoor fires, with the ground very dry. If you want to share your own photos of the scorching weather, you can upload them via BBC Weather Watchers or email us at midlandstoday@ inspiration, view some top tips from three of England's Big Picture photographers. When emailing pictures, please make sure you include the following information:The full name of the person who took the pictures (as this person owns the copyright)Confirmation that the copyright holder gives permission for the BBC to use their pictures across all its outputsThe location, date and time the pictures were takenYour telephone number so we can get back to you if we have any further other details about the pictures that may be useful for us to knowPlease note that while we welcome all your pictures, we are more likely to use those which have been taken in the past week. Follow for more pictures on Instagram from BBC Birmingham, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, BBC Hereford & Worcester, BBC Shropshire, BBC Stoke & Staffordshire and BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Wildfire warning after hectic weekend for Norfolk fire crews
A busy weekend for a county fire service has sparked a plea for people to be careful while enjoying the summer Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) crews have been called to 32 "fires in the open" since an amber heat health warning came into force at 12:00 GMT on reached around 30C (86F) in the county on Saturday and the UK Health and Security Agency has since extended the amber warning until 09:00 on head of operations, Paul Seaman, said the risk of wildfires was "very high" due to the hot and dry weather. Fires in the open are described as those affecting grass, heathland or woodland spate in recent days has mostly been small in scale, with crews called to locations including Kelling, West Winch, Thetford and Wymondham. One in Shouldham this morning was caused by a disposable some large wildfires caused major damage in the county during a July 2022 heatwave which saw temperatures pushing 40C (104F), and it is that danger which has been Seaman said: "Over the weekend, we saw increasing numbers of avoidable fires in the open across Norfolk."Our crews responded quickly to contain them, but the risk of wildfires is currently very high due to the hot, dry ongoing weather."The cause of some of these fires were out of control bonfires, barbecues and bin fires caused by carelessly discarding cigarettes and barbecues."While the hot weather continues, we would ask residents and visitors to Norfolk to take extra care, not use disposable barbecues and take a picnic instead. Please don't have bonfires, as these can quickly get out of control and please discard of smoking materials safely and take litter home with you."NFRS say that during the same weekend last year, when the weather was cooler, crews attended 13 fires in the service has also issued an appeal on social media for drivers to avoid parking over yellow hydrant covers, which are used to maintain an engine's water are 22,000 hydrants across Norfolk and NFRS has appealed for people to take notice of the yellow 'H' markings on roads and signs. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Weather: What is a 'heat dome' - and how long is it set to affect the UK?
Most of Europe is right now baking in a so-called "heat dome" - conditions a bit like a pizza oven, which are scorching Spain, France, Italy, Greece and beyond. Meanwhile, temperatures in the UK could soar to a rare 34C (93.2F) today - meaning it could be hotter than Mexico, Barbados and Jamaica. So, what's going on with our weather? What is a heat dome? A heat dome forms when an area of high pressure lingers over a region for days or weeks. This pressure traps hot air - like the dome of a pizza oven or a lid on a saucepan - and bakes the air and land beneath. As the ground parches, it absorbs heat - making conditions hotter still. The dome of high pressure also blocks out clouds and cooler air, resulting in clear skies and persistent heat. What effect is the heat dome having on the UK? The current heat dome is hovering across most of Europe, while the UK sits just on the cusp of it. That means the same high pressure bringing plus 40C (104F) temperatures to southern Europe is also roasting southern and eastern England on Monday and Tuesday. Temperatures could soar to 34C (93.2F) in London and the southeast today - a "relatively rare event, with just a handful of days [of 34C] since the 1960s", according to Met Office scientist Dr Amy Doherty. And these regions are due to sweat through a "tropical night" on Monday evening - when temperatures do not drop below 20C (68F), making it much harder to sleep. This heat will be pushed away to the southeast on Tuesday night, as a cold front moves through southeastern England. Northern and western Britain sit outside the area of high pressure, hence conditions there are cooler and wetter. 1:55 Are heat domes becoming more common? The (scientific) jury is still out, says climate scientist Dr Michael Byrne, from the University of St Andrews. "Some research suggests heat domes will become more common as climate warms, with more frequent heatwaves as a result" but there is no scientific consensus yet, he says. "But what is crystal clear is that climate change is loading the dice such that when a heat dome does occur, it brings hotter and more dangerous temperatures," he adds. 1:56 The 'game-changer' While heat domes are nothing new, their more intense impacts are. Europe is already more than 2C warmer than in pre-industrial times, and the fastest warming continent in the world, making every heatwave and heat dome hotter than they would have been. That's because greenhouse gases released from burning fossil fuels are trapping more heat in the Earth's atmosphere, raising the average temperatures. Dr Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science from Imperial College London, says: "Countless studies have shown that climate change is an absolute game-changer when it comes to heat in Europe, making heatwaves much more frequent, especially the hottest ones - and more intense." Prof James Dyke, an expert in climate science from Exeter University, adds: "The only way to avoid even more extreme heat is to rapidly phase out fossil fuels." But we must also adapt to the hotter world, experts say, which means making sure people and buildings can keep cool to avoid the dangerous side effects. Baroness Brown, from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), told Sky News in April: "It still seems to feel like it's tomorrow's problem… and if we don't tackle it today, it becomes tomorrow's disaster." 1:56 The 'silent killer' and the side effects Scientists call heatwaves the "silent killer" because they drive significant excess deaths, particularly in those who are already vulnerable. They are also dangerous for small children - whose small bodies heat up faster - and pregnant women, and risk premature births. The side effects hit not just our health but land and buildings too. Heat fuels the conditions for wildfires, and can cause crops, railways, and power lines to fail. Dr Madeleine Thomson, from the Wellcome Trust, which supports health research, says we need a longer-term approach to coping with longer and hotter heat. "The strategy of reacting to each crisis is failing, and the science tells us it will get worse," she says. ""We need to shift to proactive, rapid and coordinated action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. "The tools exist. The evidence is clear. What's missing is the urgency. We must act and we must act now."
