Lately, the reports seem to be piling up. Greece, Turkey or even Spain - record-breaking forest fires have been ravaging popular tourist hotspots time and again in recent weeks and days, threatening cities and infrastructure, and not infrequently claiming lives.
While extreme weather in our country, caused by climate change, is leading to extreme flooding in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, many regions in southern Europe are struggling with extreme heat and droughts.
Climate change is not necessarily causing the fires, it is intensifying them. In some cases, the affected areas are so dry that the fires spread at a furious speed.
Thousands of hectares of land near Barcelona (Spain) were destroyed by flames last weekend. More than 300 firefighters tried to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading further toward the metropolitan area. In the south of the country, in the region of Andalusia, units are also in continuous operation.
On the island of Cyprus, more than 55 square kilometers of land fell victim to flames in a forest fire. Four people died, a man is said to have burned garden waste and thus caused the fire.
A total of 41 fires have been reported on Turkey's Mediterranean coast in recent days. Three people were killed and 122 injured in the fire in the Antalya region. Several hotel complexes had to be evacuated.
Two members of the organization also had a rather involuntary experience on the vacation island of Mallorca. In approx. 500 meters distance to the hotel an area of around 300 square meters burned - only the fast intervention of the IBANAT unit working on site could prevent a spreading to a nearby building complex.
Sources (not EN):