By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The death toll from six straight days of wildfires in Turkey has risen to eight, while in neighbouring Greece, firefighters were attempting to contain a blaze that has destroyed houses and hospitalised more than a dozen people.
The Turkish fires have been fuelled by a southern European heatwave fed by hot air from North Africa, which has also seen chaos grip other parts of the Mediterranean in recent days.
Experts have warned that climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of wildfires.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Monday that Greece is suffering its worst heatwave since 1987 as forecasters said temperatures could reach 45 degrees in the coming days.
Aljazeera reports that the intense heat has helped fan wildfires that have destroyed more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of pine and olive groves in the country’s west since Saturday.
Elsewhere in Europe, more than 800 flare-ups were recorded over the weekend in Italy, mainly in the south, the country’s fire brigade said. A second straight day of wildfires in Sicily on Saturday forced people to leave their homes and saw the local Catania airport temporarily shut down.
In Turkey, two people died on Sunday in the Mediterranean coastal city of Manavgat, raising the town’s death toll to at least eight, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said.
