site.btaWildfires in Turkiye Increase Fivefold in June Y/Y

Record high temperatures in Turkiye in June has led to a fivefold increase in wildfires compared to last year, Turkish media reported on Monday.

According to the General Directorate of Forestry, some 400 fires occurred in Turkiye from June 1 to 21, compared with 84 in the same period last year.

A meteorology expert, Orhan Shen, said that the situation is now critical, as quoted by newspaper Hurriyet. Temperatures are high in June and July, August and September are yet to come, the expert added.

Temperatures are above 40C in the Aegean, Mediterranean, Eastern, Southeastern, Marmara and Thrace regions, the meteorologist said, adding that low humidity and wind speeds of 40 kilometers per hour significantly increase the risk of wildfires.

Turkiye’s former environment minister Mustafa Ozturk stressed that 95% of forest fires are caused by human activity.

Meanwhile, the death toll in a fire that broke out in a stubble field in Diyarbakir, Southeastern Turkey, has risen to 15, state-run TRT-Haber television reported.