Heat Wave in Southern Europe Spawns Wildfires in Turkey, Italy, Greece

A record-breaking heat wave across southeastern Europe has fueled deadly wildfires in Turkey as well Greece and Italy and threatened the national power grid in Greece.Firefighters from the European Union arrived in Turkey on Monday where they joined local volunteers in fighting deadly wildfires along its coastline for a sixth day, The fires have been blamed for the deaths of eight people in recent days. There were no reports of additional deaths Monday.Opposition politicians in the country are criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for what they deemed his sluggish and out-of-touch response to the fires.Italian firefighters are using helicopters to fight fires along that country’s Adriatic coast and in the Sicily region. The National Fire Brigade Corps (Vigilli del Fuoco) reports air tankers from Canada helped fight more than 715 flare-up fires in the past 24 hours.In this photo released by the Italian Firefighters, a view of a violent wildfire that burned the historical pinewood in Pescara, central Italy, Aug. 1, 2021.The Associated Press reports in Greece, where temperatures reached 45° C (113° F) inland, workers with health conditions were allowed to take time off work. Also, coal-fired power stations slated for retirement were brought back into service to shore up the national grid, under pressure due to widespread use of air conditioning.Greek firefighters on Monday fought local fires on the Greek island of Rhodes and  in the city of Patras.EU data show this year’s fire season has been significantly more destructive than most, with experts saying that climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of such blazes.University of Bristol professor of climate science Dann Mitchell  told the AP that the heatwave in southeast Europe “is not at all unexpected, and very likely enhanced due to human-induced climate change.”(Some information in this report came from the AP, Reuters and AFP.) 
 
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