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Hundreds of firefighters fought fires that have devoured record numbers of woodlands in Greece on Saturday and left hundreds of families homeless, but heavy rains brought respite to hard-hit Turkey. More than 1,450 Greek firefighters backed by at least 15 aircraft were battling the blazes, with reinforcements arriving from abroad, the fire service said. In Pefkofyto, in the north of Athens, pensioner Tasos Tsilivakos struggled to contain his tears. “This is a horrible disaster,” he […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — This year is on course to be one of the three warmest ever recorded, the United Nations said Wednesday, as the UN chief warned the world was on the brink of “climate catastrophe”. The past six years, 2015 to 2020, are set to make up all six of the hottest years since modern records began in 1850, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its provisional […]
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse CALISTOGA, California (AFP) — The Silverado Trail has long been a place of dreams for Napa Valley wine lovers as it winds gently through vineyards and on to Calistoga. California’s Glass Fire turned much of that dream to ash, destroying a 3-star restaurant at Meadowood resort, torching wineries such as Chateau Boswell, and tainting precious grapes with smoke. The United States’s west coast is experiencing a record-breaking fire season, with […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Rampant fires in the Amazon are “poisoning the air” of the world’s biggest rainforest, causing a sharp rise in respiratory emergencies in a region already hit hard by Covid-19, said a study published Wednesday. The fires that engulfed the Brazilian Amazon last year to global outcry caused an estimated 2,195 people in the region to be hospitalized for respiratory distress driven by inhaling smoke-polluted air, found the study by […]
LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters made small progress on Monday as they battled to contain historic wildfires in California, with potentially dangerous lighting storms proving milder than expected and temperatures easing. Governor Gavin Newsom said some 625 fires were burning throughout the state and had scorched more than 1.2 million acres — nearly the size of the Grand Canyon. Of those fires, 17 were considered major, he said, including the LNU Lightning […]
by David MILLIKIN Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s bushfires and other climate change effects are devastating the habitats of critically endangered species and driving the native platypus towards extinction, according to surveys highlighting the country’s vulnerability to rising temperatures. The unprecedented blazes that have swept through an area the size of Portugal have claimed 29 lives but also tested Australia’s rich and often unique wildlife, with experts warning up to one billion creatures […]
by Giovanna FLEITAS / with Jorge SVARTZMAN in Rio de Janeiro SALVADOR, Brazil (AFP) — Paris and the United Nations called Thursday for the protection of the fire-plagued Amazon rainforest as Brazil’s right-wing president accused his French counterpart of having a “colonialist mentality” over the issue. Official figures show nearly 73,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year — the highest number for any year since 2013. Most […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The death toll from the devastating wildfire in northern California rose to 81 Tuesday with the discovery of two more sets of remains, officials said. The number of people listed as unaccounted for in the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history jumped up by nearly 200 to 870. This number has been fluctuating a lot in recent days amid the confusion of the search for bodies in […]
by Laurent Banguet Agence France-Presse PARADISE, United States (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters battled blazes in northern and southern California on Tuesday as body recovery teams searched the remains of houses and charred cars for victims of the deadliest wildfires in the history of the US state. At least 44 deaths have been reported so far from the late-season wildfires and with hundreds of people unaccounted for the toll is likely to rise. Most of […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Thick smoke blanketed Vancouver on Tuesday, triggering warnings about dangerous particulate matter in the air and comparisons with cities in China and India ranked by the WTO as the worst polluted. It blew in more than a week ago from hundreds of wildfires burning across Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia as well as US states to the south, and according to officials was expected to linger for several more days […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — British Columbia declared a province-wide state of emergency Wednesday as Canada’s military joined firefighters in trying to douse 556 wildfires burning across the craggy region. The province’s public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said the measure — which allows for officials to take “every action necessary” to protect the public — would be in effect for 14 days. It is only the second time in more than a decade that it has […]
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — A 95-year-old woman injured in Greece’s deadliest fire last month died early Monday, raising the death toll to 91, state agency ANA reported. The woman succumbed to burn injuries hours after the government, widely criticised for its response to the emergency, replaced the heads of the police and fire brigade. The minister responsible for the police and state security also quit last week. Another 36 people are still hospitalised after the […]
