Firefighters extinguished wildfires on July 28 in three distinct provinces in Turkey and near a tourist resort in Albania, catalysed by strong winds after days of heatwaves across the Mediterranean region.
A wildfire engulfed the forested area near Cavuslar village in Karabuk district, northwest Turkey. Smoke raged over the mountainous Black Sea province of Karabuk, some 200 kilometres north of the capital Ankara, as a wildfire which raged for a sixth day forced the evacuation of more than a dozen villages and burnt swathes of forests, reported Reuters.
Three firefighters were reportedly killed on July 27 when their vehicle crashed in the northwestern province of Bursa, Turkey's Forestry Ministry said on July 28. Firefighters strived to tame two separate blazes there on July 28 following the evacuation of over 3,600 people from settlements in the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya.
Turkey has witnessed multiple severe wildfires daily since late June due to the ongoing extreme heat, with the government declaring two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, disaster areas on July 25, reported CNN.
As per a July 24 report by Al Jazeera, at least 10 firefighters and rescue workers were killed while battling a wildfire in Turkey’s northwestern Eskisehir province. Hot and dry summers have been common in the Mediterranean region, but more intense heatwaves have contributed to destructive wildfires in recent years amid fast-rising temperatures across the globe.
Heatwave Drives Wildfire Surge
Turkey reportedly recorded scorching 50.5 degrees Celsius in Silopi on July 25, noting the country’s all-time highest maximum temperature. However, these places are expected to experience a cooldown as northerly airmass is moving in, according to The Guardian.
The previous heat record was registered in August 2023 at 49.5 degrees Celsius.
Rising temperatures throughout the Mediterranean countries have sparked wildfires, with blazes forcing thousands of people into lockdown in Catalonia in Spain, and encroaching on France's second-biggest city of Marseille, reported Reuters on July 15.
The record heatwaves and consequent wildfires are transforming them from sporadic incidents into near-annual crises. A May 2024 report published by the UN Environment Programme indicated that wildfires across the region could increase by 14% by 2030, 30% by 2050, and reach 50% more frequent by century’s end.
Some of the causes are prolonged droughts, strong winds, loss of forests due to commercial logging, deforestation for grazing lands and city expansion.
