(CN) — Deadly wildfires raged out of control in Greece on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people, and large swaths of southern Europe suffered through a new heat wave, the latest signs that extreme weather has become what experts say is a new normal for Europe.
In Greece, massive fires stoked by high winds and hot temperatures devastated the northeastern region of Evros and dozens of other blazes were raging across Greece, including in Attica, the region that includes Athens.
On Tuesday, Greek authorities said 18 burned bodies were found in a forest in a remote northeastern part of the country, a discovery that raised the death toll to 20 after two people were reported killed Monday.
Authorities suspected 19 of the fire victims were migrants who'd crossed into Greece illegally. The other victim was an elderly shepherd who was overwhelmed by flames as he tried to save his animals.
Greek authorities said at least two firefighters had been injured. Meanwhile, about 120 firefighters from Romania, France, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Germany and Cyprus had arrived as part of a European Union civil protection program. Greece's military was mobilized as well.
In 2021, Greece struggled to rein in wildfires that devastated the island of Evia. Thousands of residents and tourists had to be evacuated. Last month, a fire destroyed almost 17,770 hectares (more than 43,000 acres) in 10 days in the south of Rhodes, a popular tourist island in the south-eastern Aegean.
Fires have been raging for four days in Evros and other parts of Greece, but the blazes were intensifying Tuesday.
Overnight, the General University Hospital in Alexandroupolis, a port city near the Turkish border, was evacuated with patients being transferred onto a ferry as thick smoke and ash covered the city. Evacuations and heavy damage were reported across Evros and in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, a new dangerous heat wave blanketed much of southern Europe with extremely high temperatures recorded in France, Switzerland, Croatia and Italy.
Across central and southern France, health authorities issued heat alerts as temperatures soared past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures were the highest in the Rhône Valley in southeastern France.
In Italy, numerous cities were placed under heat alerts as temperatures reached 100 F, well past seasonal averages, and the country braced for several more days of heat. Forecasters projected relief by the end of the month with the arrival of thunderstorms.
Europe, like others parts of the world, is experiencing more and more extreme weather that scientists say is linked to global warming.
Already this year, June and July were the hottest months ever recorded globally, according to Copernicus, the European Union's climate change agency. Last month, much of southern Europe suffered through a record-breaking and prolonged heat wave. Copernicus has not yet issued any reports on global temperatures for August.
“This is the new normal and does not come as a surprise,” said Alvaro Silva, a climate expert with the World Meteorological Organization, during a news briefing Tuesday at the agency's Geneva headquarters.
“The frequency and intensity of many extremes, such as heat waves and heavy precipitation, have increased in recent decades,” Silva added. “There is high confidence that human-induced climate change from greenhouse emissions is the main driver.”
On Monday, Europeans saw another grim record as Swiss scientists reported that a new so-called “zero-degree line” was set. Since 1954, Switzerland has flown weather balloons to record the altitude where the temperature falls below freezing (zero degrees Celsius), a mark known as the zero-degree line.
MétéoSuisse said the zero-degree line was measured at 5,298 meters (17,381 feet), the highest point ever, which surpassed the previous high of 5,184 meters (17,007 feet) set in July 2022. The agency said the zero-degree line has risen “significantly in every season” in recent decades.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
Follow @cainburdeau
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