Turkish firefighters battled blazes across six provinces on Monday, with the mountainous Karabuk region facing a sixth consecutive day of infernos that forced over a dozen villages to evacuate and destroyed vast forested areas. The crisis claimed three more firefighters’ lives in Bursa province when their vehicle crashed during operations, adding to 14 firefighter deaths in recent weeks, including 10 killed last week in Eskisehir. Over 3,600 residents fled fires in southern Mersin and Antalya provinces as temperatures hit a record 50.5°C (122.9°F) last week, creating conditions an opposition lawmaker described as “an apocalypse”.
Greece confronted 44 new wildfires in 24 hours, straining emergency services already battling persistent blazes on the islands of Kythera, Evia, and Crete. Strong winds reignited a Kythera fire that has burned since Saturday, destroying 20% of the island’s land and forcing mass evacuations, including 139 tourists rescued from a beach. Near Athens, flames threatened Mount Hymettus’s foothills near university campuses and suburbs, though crews contained them swiftly. The government formally requested six firefighting aircraft from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism as temperatures soared to 45.8°C (114.4°F) in Peloponnese.
In Albania, 900 firefighters and army personnel battled to prevent a wildfire from reaching Saranda, a key Ionian coast tourist destination as 26 fires erupted nationwide. Police arrested 13 suspects for arson-related offenses in three days. Meanwhile, Bulgaria deployed planes with European support to combat a major fire near the Turkish border, where flames have consumed 16,000 acres. Two individuals were detained for investigation, reflecting regional suspicions of human-triggered disasters.
The Mediterranean’s hot, dry summers have intensified due to climate change, with UN experts warning wildfires could increase 30% by 2050. “The number of days of extreme fire danger is already at levels predicted for 2050,” noted a European Commission researcher. While Serbia’s firefighters gained control of over 100 blazes after rainfall, Greece’s heatwave persisted until Monday. Turkish Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned fires would take “several days to contain,” highlighting a “new normal” of prolonged fire seasons.