Heavy smoke rises during a wildfire in the forested hills of the Kabylie region, east of the Algerian capital Algiers Ryad KRAMDI AFP
Issued on: 12/08/2021 -
Tizi Ouzou (Algeria) (AFP)
Blazes raged across northern Algeria on Thursday as the country observed a national day of mourning for dozens of people killed in the latest wildfires to sweep the Mediterranean.
The North African country has been in the grip of devastating fires since Monday that have claimed at least 69 lives -- 41 civilians and 28 soldiers.
Soldiers and civilian volunteers have joined firefighters on multiple fronts in the effort to extinguish the blazes that have been fanned by windy and tinder-dry conditions.
In Tizi Ouzou district, the area with the highest casualty toll, an AFP journalist reported entire sectors of forest going up in smoke.
Villagers forced to evacuate in order to escape the flames began trickling back to their homes, overwhelmed by the scale of the damage.
Issued on: 12/08/2021 -
Tizi Ouzou (Algeria) (AFP)
Blazes raged across northern Algeria on Thursday as the country observed a national day of mourning for dozens of people killed in the latest wildfires to sweep the Mediterranean.
The North African country has been in the grip of devastating fires since Monday that have claimed at least 69 lives -- 41 civilians and 28 soldiers.
Soldiers and civilian volunteers have joined firefighters on multiple fronts in the effort to extinguish the blazes that have been fanned by windy and tinder-dry conditions.
In Tizi Ouzou district, the area with the highest casualty toll, an AFP journalist reported entire sectors of forest going up in smoke.
Villagers forced to evacuate in order to escape the flames began trickling back to their homes, overwhelmed by the scale of the damage.
Deadly wildfires in northern Algeria Cléa PÉCULIER AFP
"I have nothing left. My workshop, my car, my flat. Even the tiles were destroyed," one of them told AFP.
But he said he had "managed to save his family", while adding that "neighbours died or lost their relatives".
- 'Surge of solidarity' -
Flags were flying at half-mast after President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared three days of national mourning starting from Thursday.
Algerian authorities say they suspect widespread arson after so many fires erupted in such a short space of time.
The country's state prosecutor on Thursday ordered an investigation after a mob allegedly lynched a man they accused of sparking the wildfires.
Video footage posted online Wednesday showed a crowd beating to death 38-year-old Jamal Ben Ismail and setting him ablaze in the Tizi Ouzou district.
On the fourth day of the wildfires, efforts to overcome the blazes are continuing in many regions where civilians and soldiers often with limited means joined the fight.
"I have nothing left. My workshop, my car, my flat. Even the tiles were destroyed," one of them told AFP.
But he said he had "managed to save his family", while adding that "neighbours died or lost their relatives".
- 'Surge of solidarity' -
Flags were flying at half-mast after President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared three days of national mourning starting from Thursday.
Algerian authorities say they suspect widespread arson after so many fires erupted in such a short space of time.
The country's state prosecutor on Thursday ordered an investigation after a mob allegedly lynched a man they accused of sparking the wildfires.
Video footage posted online Wednesday showed a crowd beating to death 38-year-old Jamal Ben Ismail and setting him ablaze in the Tizi Ouzou district.
On the fourth day of the wildfires, efforts to overcome the blazes are continuing in many regions where civilians and soldiers often with limited means joined the fight.
Flags of Algeria fly at half-mast in mourning for the victims of the Kabylie region forest fires in Algeria's capital Algiers, on August 12, 2021 Ryad KRAMDI AFP
Images of trapped villagers, terrified livestock and forested hillsides reduced to blackened stumps have been shared on social media.
Algeria is also chartering two firefighting planes from the European Union.
France also announced the arrival in Algeria of two Canadair firefighting planes it has sent.
"They will help the rescue efforts to deal with the terrible fires," French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.
Neighbouring Morocco, with whom Algeria has long had strained ties over the Western Sahara, also offered to help by providing two planes.
Images of trapped villagers, terrified livestock and forested hillsides reduced to blackened stumps have been shared on social media.
Algeria is also chartering two firefighting planes from the European Union.
France also announced the arrival in Algeria of two Canadair firefighting planes it has sent.
"They will help the rescue efforts to deal with the terrible fires," French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.
Neighbouring Morocco, with whom Algeria has long had strained ties over the Western Sahara, also offered to help by providing two planes.
Burned houses stand amid charred trees, following a wildfire in the forested hills of the Kabylie region, east of the Algerian capital Ryad KRAMDI AFP
Faced with the scale of the disaster, pleas for assistance are multiplying in Algeria and beyond.
"Individuals and associations are mobilising... by organising collections of clothes, foodstuffs, medicines and hygiene products," said Algeria's TSA news website, calling it a "surge of solidarity".
Djaffar, a resident of the village of Agoulmim in Kabylie, expressed his gratitude on Berber TV.
"God bless them... We had no electricity and people brought in generators from all around," the exhausted villager said after his ordeal.
"The flames were so high, they destroyed everything. Suddenly it was like a volcano," he said.
- Heatwave -
High winds fuelled the rapid spread of the flames in tinder-dry conditions created by a heatwave across North Africa and the wider Mediterranean.
The authorities have raised the possibility of criminal behaviour.
Faced with the scale of the disaster, pleas for assistance are multiplying in Algeria and beyond.
"Individuals and associations are mobilising... by organising collections of clothes, foodstuffs, medicines and hygiene products," said Algeria's TSA news website, calling it a "surge of solidarity".
Djaffar, a resident of the village of Agoulmim in Kabylie, expressed his gratitude on Berber TV.
"God bless them... We had no electricity and people brought in generators from all around," the exhausted villager said after his ordeal.
"The flames were so high, they destroyed everything. Suddenly it was like a volcano," he said.
- Heatwave -
High winds fuelled the rapid spread of the flames in tinder-dry conditions created by a heatwave across North Africa and the wider Mediterranean.
The authorities have raised the possibility of criminal behaviour.
Volunteers of the SIDRA Association NGO take part in an initiative with the Algerian Food Bank to send aid packages to victims of the Kabylie region forest fires in Algeria's capital Algiers, on August 12, 2021 Ryad KRAMDI AFP
Four suspected "arsonists" were arrested so far, but their identities or suspected motives have not yet been disclosed.
Armed forces chief Said Chengriha visited soldiers in Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia, another badly affected area. Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane also visited Tizi Ouzou.
Each summer, Algeria endures seasonal wildfires, but rarely anything approaching this year's disaster.
Meteorologists expect the Maghreb heatwave to continue until the end of the week, with temperatures in Algeria reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
Four suspected "arsonists" were arrested so far, but their identities or suspected motives have not yet been disclosed.
Armed forces chief Said Chengriha visited soldiers in Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia, another badly affected area. Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane also visited Tizi Ouzou.
Each summer, Algeria endures seasonal wildfires, but rarely anything approaching this year's disaster.
Meteorologists expect the Maghreb heatwave to continue until the end of the week, with temperatures in Algeria reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
An injured man looks on during a wildfire in Tizi Ouzou Ryad KRAMDI AFP
Across the border in Tunisia, where almost 30 fires have been recorded since Monday, the mercury hit an all-time record of 50.3 Celsius in the central region of Kairouan (centre).
Almost 30 fires have been recorded in Tunisia since Monday.
On the northern shores of the Mediterranean, deadly wildfires have been raging in Turkey and Greece for the past two weeks.
In Italy, where firefighters were battling more than 500 blazes overnight, Sicily recorded a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday that is believed to be a new European record.
© 2021 AFP
Across the border in Tunisia, where almost 30 fires have been recorded since Monday, the mercury hit an all-time record of 50.3 Celsius in the central region of Kairouan (centre).
Almost 30 fires have been recorded in Tunisia since Monday.
On the northern shores of the Mediterranean, deadly wildfires have been raging in Turkey and Greece for the past two weeks.
In Italy, where firefighters were battling more than 500 blazes overnight, Sicily recorded a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday that is believed to be a new European record.
© 2021 AFP
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday described the devastating wildfires that burned across the country for more than a week as the greatest ecological catastrophe Greece had seen in decades. The fires broke out as the country roasted during the most intense and protracted heat wave experienced since 1987. Hundreds of wildfires erupted across the country, stretching Greece’s firefighting capabilities to the limit and leading the government to appeal for help from abroad. Hundreds of firefighters, along with planes, helicopters and vehicles, arrived from 24 European and Middle Eastern countries to assist.
Italian wildfires rage on after 49 degree heat record
Italian firefighters continued to battle blazes in Sicily as temperatures reached what may possibly be a record high in Europe.The region's agriculture-meteorological information service (SIAS) reported that the temperature rose to 48.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday afternoon.
Sicily's temperature of nearly 120 degrees may be record for Europe
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The World Meteorological Organization is trying to determine if Sicily set a new record Wednesday for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe, with a temperature of 119.84 degrees Fahrenheit.
The temperature was recorded by the Sicilian Meteorological Information Service for Agriculture amid a prolonged heat wave.
If the WMO confirms the temperature as a record, it will top the previous mark of 118.4 set in Athens, Greece, in 1977.
"We can't yet confirm or deny its validity," the WMO said in a Twitter post Thursday. "The WMO will seek to verify reports."
Lt. Col. Guido Guidi of Italy's Aeronautical Meteorological Service told The New York Times it may take some time to verify the record. He said data recorded by stations across the region need to be validated.
The hottest temperature ever recorded worldwide, according to the WMO, was set in Furnace Creek, Calif., in 1913 -- 134 degrees.
The mark in Sicily came a couple days after a United Nations climate change report said human-led increases in extreme weather conditions are unavoidable, but noted that there's still a small window open to dodge the worst effects.
Sicily registers record 49°C heat as Italy's wildfires rage on
Issued on: 12/08/2021 - 
A man refreshes himself at a fountain in Palermo, Italy, on August 11, 2021.
© Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP
Text by: NEWS WIRES
Fires stoked by hot winds swept through southern Italy on Thursday, a day after a monitoring station in Sicily reported temperatures of 48.8 Celsius (119.84°F) which some scientists believe could be the highest in European history.
The record temperature, which still needs to be verified by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), was reported close to the city of Syracuse, in the southeast of the island of Sicily.
"If the data is validated, it could become the highest value ever recorded in Europe, beating the previous record of 48 degrees measured in Athens on July 10, 1977," meteorologist Manuel Mazzoleni wrote on 3Bmeteo.com, a specialist website.
Firemen said on Twitter they had carried out more than 500 operations in Sicily and Calabria in the last 12 hours, employing five planes to try to douse the flames from above. They said the situation was now "under control" on the island.
Local media reported that trees and land were burning in the Madonie mountains some 100 km from the Sicilian capital of Palermo and in the small town of Linguaglossa, on the slopes of the Etna volcano.
"Our small town was really invaded by fire. It is a catastrophe ... We are living through some really sad moments," said Giovanna Licitra, from the village of Giarratana in the south of the island which was hit by fires on Wednesday.
Serious damage has also been reported in Calabria, the toe of Italy's "boot", where some families left their homes and a man died on Wednesday.
A woman refreshes at a fan nebulising water next to the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, on August 12, 2021. © Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP
Temperatures are expected to rise in several Italian cities including the capital Rome on Friday, when the heatwave could reach its peak, according to a health ministry bulletin.
(REUTERS)
Temperatures are expected to rise in several Italian cities including the capital Rome on Friday, when the heatwave could reach its peak, according to a health ministry bulletin.
(REUTERS)
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