Rome, Europe Brief News – The number of wildfires recorded so far in 2022 is already three times higher than average.
Italy is registering at least one fire every two days, according to Coldiretti, Italy’s national confederation of farmers.
The exceptionally high temperatures of the past few months combined with the ongoing lack of rainfall – down by nearly 50 percent on this time last year – have dried out swathes of land up and down the country, increasing the frequency and often the severity of wildfires.
“Italy is ablaze, with over 9,000 hectares [of land] having gone up in smoke in the last six months”, said Coldiretti, adding that the heatwave is “laying siege” to major cities including Bologna, Rome, Florence and Naples.
Experts have linked the wildfires for Europe to climate change.
Mercury rose above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many Spanish cities throughout the week – such temperatures that are usually expected in August.
A lack of rainfall this year, combined with gusting winds, has also produced the conditions for the fires.
Following three days of high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity, some respite came on Sunday with dropping temperatures that allowed for about 650 firefighters, supported by water-dumping aircraft, to establish a perimeter around the fire that started in Zamora’s Sierra de la Culebra.
