Is this the new face of summer? ‘It can be unpleasant in places’

Greece has been devastated by several wildfires this week, including on the island of Rhodes. There, firefighters have been battling the blaze for six days, and thousands of residents and tourists have been evacuated. According to experts, these wildfires may be linked to heat and therefore to climate change.

In the Mediterranean region temperatures rise in all seasons, combined with low rainfall. It is also known as a hotspot of climate change, says KNMI climate scientist Karin van der Wiel. According to her, that combination leads to dryness. “When the soil dries out, so do the plants, and a land becomes prone to wildfires.”

‘It’s 40 degrees sometimes’

“It is noteworthy that several heat records have been reached in one week,” said Berend van Straten, a meteorologist at WieronLine. He mentions the heat in southern European countries, China and the United States, among others. June was also the hottest month on record globally, and the hottest day was July 6. “In southern Europe it was 40 degrees, then there were also forest fires, but now we are seeing more and more extreme weather.” According to van der Wiel, these rising temperatures are related to climate change. The risk of disasters like fire is also increasing as a result.”

So meteorologist van Straten is concerned. “Prediction is difficult, but I don’t exclude that in some places it will become more undesirable. The further south you are in Europe, and the closer you are to the Mediterranean, the more likely forest fires are, for example.” He says current temperatures are exceptional even in hot weather. “That doesn’t mean next year’s heat records will be broken again.”

Is this the new face of summer in Europe? “I think it’s part of the current climate,” replied KNMI’s van der Wiel. “I don’t know if it will be like this every year. The Mediterranean has good and bad, dry and wet years. Wildfires are more likely to occur during drier years, when there is more rainfall.” But he adds that the likelihood of large-scale wildfires will continue to increase.

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Large-scale evacuations of Rhodes due to large fires, many Dutch people also affected

On the Greek holiday island of Rhodes, 19,000 people were evacuated from villages and hotels on Saturday due to severe forest fires, including dozens of Belgians, according to the Greek government. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s cabinet said it was Greece’s largest-ever evacuation operation.