Dozens killed in Algeria wildfires as temperatures soar up to 50C

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Wildfires have killed 34 people in Algeria and spread to Tunisia as a heatwave sweeping across the Mediterranean created devastating blazes that authorities struggled to control.

Wildfires caused by the intense heat have destroyed homes and evacuated thousands of tourists from the Greek island of Rhodes, spreading to dry and mountainous parts of northern Algeria and Tunisia, where fires have also broken out.

Nearly record high temperatures around the Mediterranean this month have been attributed to climate change by scientists, who have warned that the region must prepare for more intense and longer-lasting heatwaves.

The Algerian Interior Ministry said on Monday that 10 soldiers battling the flames were among the dead. Most of the deaths occurred in the coastal province of Bezia, east of the capital Algiers, where 22 people were killed and nearly 200 were injured, according to local news reports.

About 1,500 people have been evacuated from the worst-hit areas, according to the ministry, which said there were about 100 fires in more than a dozen provinces. According to local news reports, it said 8,000 firefighters were working to douse the blaze as temperatures of up to 50C raged in some parts of the country.

Summer forest fires have become a regular occurrence in northern Algeria in recent years. Thirty-seven people died in wildfires last year, while dozens of deaths were recorded in 2021 as flames rose from the forested mountains of the Kabali region.

In neighboring Tunisia, temperatures have reached 49C this week in some towns near the border with Algeria, according to Reuters.

The official Tunisian news agency TAP said on Monday that a devastating fire has engulfed the village of Meloula in Jendouba province. Officers were trying to help people escape, some were pulled from boats.

Adel Abidi, director of civil protection in Jendouba, was quoted by the agency as saying “the situation is serious and frightening”. He attributed the recurrence of the fire to the scorching heat accompanied by strong winds and fire hotspots in the area over the past week.

According to TAP, army units were deployed in Meloula to contain the fire and assist the local population, while the air force used military helicopters and C130 aircraft to extinguish fires near Tabarka airport in the area.

Scorching temperatures are also being experienced in Egypt, where authorities have been forced to introduce rotating power blackouts for the first time in many years amid rising demand for electricity to power air conditioners.

GET FREE ALGERIA UPDATES

we will send you one myFT Daily Digest Latest Email Rounding algeria News every morning.

Wildfires have killed 34 people in Algeria and spread to Tunisia as a heatwave sweeping across the Mediterranean created devastating blazes that authorities struggled to control.

Wildfires caused by the intense heat have destroyed homes and evacuated thousands of tourists from the Greek island of Rhodes, spreading to dry and mountainous parts of northern Algeria and Tunisia, where fires have also broken out.

Nearly record high temperatures around the Mediterranean this month have been attributed to climate change by scientists, who have warned that the region must prepare for more intense and longer-lasting heatwaves.

The Algerian Interior Ministry said on Monday that 10 soldiers battling the flames were among the dead. Most of the deaths occurred in the coastal province of Bezia, east of the capital Algiers, where 22 people were killed and nearly 200 were injured, according to local news reports.

About 1,500 people have been evacuated from the worst-hit areas, according to the ministry, which said there were about 100 fires in more than a dozen provinces. According to local news reports, it said 8,000 firefighters were working to douse the blaze as temperatures of up to 50C raged in some parts of the country.

Summer forest fires have become a regular occurrence in northern Algeria in recent years. Thirty-seven people died in wildfires last year, while dozens of deaths were recorded in 2021 as flames rose from the forested mountains of the Kabali region.

In neighboring Tunisia, temperatures have reached 49C this week in some towns near the border with Algeria, according to Reuters.

The official Tunisian news agency TAP said on Monday that a devastating fire has engulfed the village of Meloula in Jendouba province. Officers were trying to help people escape, some were pulled from boats.

Adel Abidi, director of civil protection in Jendouba, was quoted by the agency as saying “the situation is serious and frightening”. He attributed the recurrence of the fire to the scorching heat accompanied by strong winds and fire hotspots in the area over the past week.

According to TAP, army units were deployed in Meloula to contain the fire and assist the local population, while the air force used military helicopters and C130 aircraft to extinguish fires near Tabarka airport in the area.

Scorching temperatures are also being experienced in Egypt, where authorities have been forced to introduce rotating power blackouts for the first time in many years amid rising demand for electricity to power air conditioners.