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Firefighters across Türkiye and Bulgaria are intensely battling widespread blazes as a deadly heatwave grips much of the Mediterranean for a second consecutive week.
In Türkiye, officials report at least 14 deaths in the past week and the evacuation of approximately 20 villages.
Temperatures in some areas, like Silopi in southeastern Türkiye, reached a record-breaking 50.5 degrees Celsius (123 Fahrenheit) on Friday, with forecasts predicting continued extreme heat.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that 96% of the 3,000 fires since early summer were human-caused, with some instances of arson, calling it “a war, a defence of our green homeland.”
The intense heat has exacerbated forest fires, which are rapidly spreading due to windy conditions. Firefighters have been working for three days to control blazes around Bursa, Türkiye’s fourth-largest city.
Residents have resorted to using tractors to transport water and carrying bottles to help fight the flames.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumaklı acknowledged that the state’s response capacity can be limited by the size and intensity of the fires, especially with strong winds grounding planes.
The ongoing risk of fires is expected to remain high until October, with a UN report estimating that 88% of Türkiye’s territory is at risk of desertification due to projected rainfall decreases and temperature rises.
In neighboring Bulgaria, emergency services are fighting over 160 active wildfires, with some recent blazes destroying about 20 homes near the Serbian border.
Bulgaria has requested EU assistance, and international aid, including two Swedish aircraft and helicopters from Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, and Romania, is now deployed.
Meanwhile, Greece continues to recover from a week of devastating forest fires that prompted widespread evacuations.
While many blazes were brought under control over the weekend, a new fire erupted near a university campus east of Athens in Zografou municipality, mobilising extensive firefighting resources. Greece has also endured a week of temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
On the Iberian Peninsula, four Spanish planes have joined over 250 Portuguese firefighters in battling a challenging mountain blaze in the Viana do Castelo district near the Portuguese-Spanish border, with strong winds making the fire difficult to contain.
Much of northern and southern Portugal remains on high alert for wildfires due to heat and winds.
