Wildfires burn in Turkey and France as early heatwave hits
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A Canadair water bomber aircraft dropping water over trees, a day after the day after a wildfire near Bizanet, in southern France, on June 30, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
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ISTANBUL/PARIS - Firefighters battled wildfires in Turkey and France on June 30 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 July 1 and 2, wildfires broke out on June 29 in the south-western Aude department, where temperatures topped 40 deg C, burning 400ha and forcing the evacuation of a campsite and an abbey, the authorities and local media said.
The fires were under control but not yet extinguished, the authorities said on June 30.
Weather service Meteo France put a record 84 of the country's 101 departments on an orange heatwave alert from June 30 until midweek.
About 200 schools will be at least partially shut over the next three days because of the heat, the Education Ministry said.
Heatwave impacts Rhine shipping
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 deg 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 deg C.
Tourists were trying to deal with the heat.
"Really hard currently," Mr 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 Mr 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 June 30 would go as high as 41 deg C in Florence, 38 deg C in Bologna and 37 deg 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 June 30.
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 in June.
Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 deg C higher than in the 1850 to 1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said earlier in June.
Scientists say the main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels.
The year 2024 was the planet's hottest on record. REUTERS
