AP PHOTOS: Wildfires grow worldwide as climate sizzles
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1of33A man watches the flames as a wildfire approaches Kochyli beach near the village of Limni, Greece, on the island of Evia, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Athens, late Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, as wildfires raged through Greece and Turkey.Thodoris Nikolaou/APShow MoreShow Less2of33A home burns on Jeters Road as the Dixie fire jumps Highway 395 south of Janesville, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.Ethan Swope/APShow MoreShow Less
3of334of33Volunteers pause while working at the scene of a forest fire near Kyuyorelyakh village at Gorny Ulus area west of Yakutsk, in Russia Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021.Ivan Nikiforov/APShow MoreShow Less5of33Nathan Spangle examines trees scorched by the Dixie Fire in Lassen County, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.Noah Berger/APShow MoreShow Less
6of337of33Ultra-Orthodox Jews walk through the Machane Yehuda market under a sky darkened by nearby wildfires, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021.Maya Alleruzzo/APShow MoreShow Less8of33A firefighter battles the Dixie Fire shortly after it jumped Highway 395 south of Janesville in Lassen County, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.Noah Berger/APShow MoreShow Less
9of3310of33Turkish volunteers rest as they fight wildfires in Turgut village, near tourist resort of Marmaris, Mugla, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021.Emre Tazegul/APShow MoreShow Less11of33A helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Koycegiz, Mugla, Turkey, Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.Emre Tazegul/APShow MoreShow Less
12of3313of33Smoke spreads over the sea as local residents and tourists use a ferry to evacuate Pefki village on Evia island, about 189 kilometers (118 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021.Petros Karadjias/APShow MoreShow Less14of33Destiney Barnard holds Raymond William Goetchius while stranded at a gas station near the Dixie Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Doyle, Calif. Barnard was helping Goetchius and his family evacuate from Susanville when her car broke down.Noah Berger/APShow MoreShow Less
15of3316of33Hunter McKee pets Rosy after helping evacuate the horse to the edge of Lake Almanor as the Dixie Fire approaches Chester, Calif, on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. Officials issued evacuation orders for the town earlier in the day as dry and windy conditions led to increased fire activity.Noah Berger/APShow MoreShow Less17of33Embers fly from burning trees as the Caldor Fire grows on Mormom Emigrant Trail east of Sly Park, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.Ethan Swope/APShow MoreShow Less
18of3319of33A man drops water to burning trees during a wildfire in Adames area, northern Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. Hundreds of residents living near a forest area north of Athens fled their homes.Michael Varaklas/APShow MoreShow Less20of33Burned trees from the White Rock Lake wildfire stand southeast of Kamloops, British Columbia, on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)Darryl Dyck/APShow MoreShow Less
21of3322of33The remains of a classic car sits on a property destroyed by the White Rock Lake wildfire in Monte Lake, east of Kamloops, British Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)Darryl Dyck/APShow MoreShow Less23of33Evacuated campers play cards in a gymnasium in Bormes-les-Mimosas, southern France, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021.Daniel Cole/APShow MoreShow Less
24of3325of33A car leaves Chester, Calif., which is under mandatory evacuation orders, as the Dixie Fire burns on the edge of town on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. The region is under red flag fire warnings due to dry, windy conditions.Noah Berger/APShow MoreShow Less26of33People use a ferry to evacuate from Pefki village on Evia island, about 189 kilometers (118 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021.Petros Karadjias/APShow MoreShow Less
27of3328of33People stand in front of Kemerkoy Thermal Power Plant with a blaze from a wildfire approaching in the background, in Milas, Mugla, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021.Emre Tazegul/APShow MoreShow Less29of33A man throws water from a swimming pool as the fire approaches his house in Ippokratios Politia village, about 35 kilometres (21 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021. Thousands of people fled wildfires burning out of control in Greece and Turkey.Thanassis Stavrakis/APShow MoreShow Less
30of3331of33A sculpture rests in front of a Grizzly Flats home destroyed by the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.Ethan Swope/APShow MoreShow Less32of33Firemen use a hose to extinguish a fire near Le Luc, southern France, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Thousands of people fled homes, campgrounds and hotels near the French Riviera as firefighters battled a blaze that raced through nearby forests, sending smoke pouring down wooded slopes toward vineyards in the picturesque area.Daniel Cole/APShow MoreShow Less
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The summer season of wildfires is growing more intense and destructive as the climate sizzles.
July was the planet’s hottest month in 142 years of record keeping, according to U.S. weather officials. Several U.S. states — including California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — also saw their hottest ever July.
In August, wildfires continued to rage across the western United States and Canada, southern Europe, northern Africa, Russia, Israel and elsewhere.
In Greece, which is suffering its most severe heat wave in decades, a large wildfire this week threatened villages outside Athens. Thousands of people were evacuated from homes in a region of the French Riviera threatened by blazing fires. Recent wildfires have killed at least 75 people in Algeria and 16 in Turkey, local officials said.
Drought conditions and high temperatures in northern California have given rise to the Dixie Fire, which has been ablaze for a month and burned more than 1,000 square miles. Some 1,600 people in Lake County were recently ordered to flee approaching flames, and children were rushed out of an elementary school as a nearby field burned.
Last week a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called Earth’s rapidly warming temperatures a “ code red for humanity.” The report calls climate change clearly human-caused and “an established fact,” and co-author and climate scientist Linda Mearns told the AP that the disrupted global climate leaves “nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.”
