Türkiye wildfires have disrupted air traffic in the country, with high temperature and humidity levels compounding the situation.
In Antalya, the country’s tourism capital, multiple flights had to be redirected from Antalya International Airport to the nearest airports. Apart from the said phenomenon, clouds looming over the city prompted the reroutes.
This week alone, at least 10 wildfires were reported in several regions, such as the southeast. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts were also affected.
Record-setting temperature
In a post on X late Tuesday, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Mehmet Özhaseki said that temperatures across Türkiye increased to a record high this week.
“Temperatures surged to a record level in Türkiye today because of the heat wave gripping the country,” he wrote.
In particular, Eskisehir province saw its temperature rise to 49.5 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the Mediterranean province witnessed its humidity hitting 90 percent, with warming seawater as the primary cause.
Türkiye recorded its highest temperature in July 2021, when the southeast region’s temperature soared to 49.1 degrees Celsius.
Read: Heatwave, scorching temps across the globe
Worldwide phenomenon
Türkiye is not the only country fighting extreme heat.
Earlier in July, the temperature in the Al Dhafra region of the United Arab Emirates climbed over 50 degrees Celsius. It marked the first time that the country reached that level this year.
In the same month, China also hit a record-breaking temperature of 52.2 degrees Celsius. This was recorded in Xinjiang.
Japan also issued heatstroke alerts in an effort to curb heat-related incidents. Temperature levels soared to nearly 40 degrees Celsius in some places, including Tokyo.
Europe also experienced extreme weather events, with Spain, Greece, and Italy recording temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Specifically, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean fought wildfires that prompted mass evacuations.
In Canada, its 2023 wildfire season is considered the worst. According to recent figures, 5,500 fires were already reported, burning an estimated 13.4 mn hectares.
Meanwhile, the devastating wildfires in Mauwi, Hawaii had already claimed 110 lives as of writing. This makes it the deadliest wildfire incident in the US in over 100 years.
While the exact cause is yet to be identified, experts agree that the wildfires were due in part to various weather conditions, such as strong winds, hot weather, and extreme drought.
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