Tourists flee blazes in Greece as fire hits bomb-riddled forest in Germany

Leftover Second World War ammunition explodes as heatwave across Europe persists

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  This aerial photograph shows the wreckage of a World War II German warship, one of dozens sunk by retreating Nazi forces in September 1944, emerging from the low waters of the Danube River near Prahovo, Serbia, as drought and prolonged hot and dry weather continues to lower water levels across the region. Heat and drought are driving rivers across Europe to record lows. Low levels along the Danube river have already seen Hungary and Romania forced to consider shuttering their nuclear plants, which rely on the water for cooling, in late July, though both managed to avoid doing so for now. AFP

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  A car drives pas dried-out fields in Leopoldsdorf im Marchfelde, Austria. Much of Europe is bracing for yet another scorching heatwave following periods of record drought that have driven rivers to historic lows, ignited historic forest fires and contributed to thousands of deaths. Unusually high temperatures were also forecast in the coming days across a number of countries not accustomed to the heat, such as Switzerland, Austria and Hungary. AFP

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  Residents and firefighters work to extinguish an advancing wildfire near Formariz in Zamora province, Spain. Reuters

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  Italian farmer Mattia Marengo inspects his sunflower field damaged by the heat in the countryside in Bene Vagienna, near Cuneo, north-western Italy. AFP

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  A closed water slide and exposed lakebed during a heat wave on Lake Velence, Hungary. Hungary is boosting electricity production at its sole nuclear plant in Paks as the Danube’s water level has rebounded from record lows, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Monday. Bloomberg

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  A ’No Fishing’ sign is pictured in the dried up Falmer Pond in Falmer, East Sussex, south of London. Climate change has intensified a drought across Europe this summer, with extreme heat driving the exceptionally dry conditions, according to experts. AFP

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  This aerial view shows burnt cars following a wildfire in Le Porge, in the Gironde Department, south-western France. The fires, which are on an unprecedented scale and have forced the evacuation of around 200,000 "fire refugees" in Gironde and the Landes, were still not under control on July 25, 2026 and continue to keep firefighters and military personnel on high alert, including an A400M aircraft deployed to tackle the blaze for the first time. AFP

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  This combination of handout pictures created on August 13, 2026 shows satellite image released by Planet Labs on August 13, 2026, showing aerial views of the Po River in Boretto, northern Italy (top L) on August 8, 2023, (top R) on August 9, 2024, (bottom L) on August 9, 2025 and (bottom R) on August 8, 2026. Areas of Europe home to more than 135 million people -- particularly in France, Italy, Spain and the UK -- are set for temperatures over 35C on August 14, as the continent's latest heatwave intensifies, according to AFP calculations. Europe is the planet's fastest-warming continent and in some places is ill-equipped to deal with hot weather. Repeated heatwaves and drought have fuelled a historically hot summer of wildfires, and contributed to the deaths of thousands of people so far. AFP

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  A tourist faces he parched bed of Brenets Lake (Lac des Brenets), part of the Doubs River, a natural border between eastern France and western Switzerland, as central Europe is hit by a new heatwave, in Les Brenets. The river has dried up due to a combination of factors, including geological fissures that drain water underground, below-average rainfall and repeated heatwaves. AFP

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  Drone shows the "Burg Pfalzgrafenstein" (Pfalzgrafenstein Castle) on an island in the dried-up river Rhine in Kaub, western Germany. As a heat wave dries Germany's rivers, government ministers are at odds over what to do about it -- re-engineer the waterways or restore them to their natural state. The debate has flared as precariously falling water levels have revealed vast sandbanks on the Rhine, Danube, Elbe and other rivers, severely impacting cargo shipping crucial for many industries. With climate change driving new heat records and longer dry spells in Europe and beyond, scientists warn that the problem will intensify in coming years. AFP

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  Wild horses on the Kruzi plateau near Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, drink water brought by residents as prolonged drought and high temperatures have dried up natural watering holes. Reuters

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  People evacuates on small boats during a wildfire as a plume of smoke rise into the sky near the village of Siviri, northern Greece. A fleet of small boats evacuated hundreds of tourists from beaches in northern Greece as a forest fire bore down on two popular resorts. Water bombing planes and helicopters and almost 150 firefighters battled the flames spreading across the Halkidiki peninsula, south of the city of Thessaloniki, the fire service said. AFP

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  This photograph shows a wildfire burning trees and grass in Sagana in the territory of Monreale, Sicily. AFP

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  A drone view shows water levels recede at Ardingly Reservoir after Britain’s Environment Agency declared the East Midlands, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Kent, East Sussex, Solent and South Downs regions in drought during the fifth heatwave of the year, near Ardingly, south‑east Britain, August 12, 2026. REUTERS / Carlos Jasso TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Tourists have been forced to flee forest fires in Greece on fishing boats, as high temperatures continued to plague most of Western Europe.

A wall of flames 3km long and up to 30 metres high is closing in on resorts on the Halkidiki peninsula, south of the city of Thessaloniki, ERT public television reported.

Nearly 500 tourists were evacuated by sea in small boats, many carrying children in their arms. Patrol and fire boats and fishing vessels were involved in the operation, the coastguard said in a statement.

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A fire service spokesman said the evacuation on Thursday had to be by sea as the flames were getting too close to the beaches to evacuate by land. “Our ⁠effort is focused on extinguishing the fire and the safe transport of people,” fire brigade spokesman Giannis Artopios told the Protothema news site.

Greece, like most of Europe, is badly affected by fires this year, with about 40 blazes reported across the country, including nine that remain out of control.

Successive heatwaves this summer ​have intensified drought, strained water supplies and left vegetation tinder-dry, enabling wildfires in Spain, France and Greece to scorch vast areas of land.

Firefighters battle a wildfire in Omis, Croatia. Reuters

In western Germany, more than 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes early on Friday ​after a wildfire near the Belgian border spread towards the ⁠village of Gey.

Unexploded ammunition

Mayor Stephan Cranen said that although the evacuation had been completed, the situation was critical and the flames were around 300 metres from the village, regional public broadcaster WDR reported.

One of the out-of-control wildfires had spread overnight ​towards a former munitions depot in the ‌nearby town of ⁠Dueren, Mr Cranen said.

Unexploded Second World War ammunition remains in some of the surrounding ​forest because ‌the hilly terrain prevented complete clearance of the area, and ⁠occasional detonations were heard during the wildfire, firefighters were ⁠quoted as saying.

In the UK, London recorded its hottest day of the year on Thursday, with the mercury hitting 38.1°C, a tenth of a degree higher than the previous high set on June 28. The heat is one of the lines of inquiry in a continuing investigation into the causes of a train derailment on the south coast of England on Thursday afternoon that left two people seriously injured and 18 others with light injuries.

Firefighters were tackling blazes in several locations in central England, with houses burnt down in the West Midlands. The region's mayor, Richard Parker, described the multiple fires as an “extremely worrying and fast-moving situation”.

Nature turning on Europe

In Croatia, forest fires spread to the seaside town of Lokva Rogoznica, near Split, injuring 19 people and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents and tourists, local authorities said. Croatia's fire chief, Slavko Tucakovic, described it as the worst blaze in the country's history.

London recorded its hottest day of the year on Thursday. Reuters

“Around two in the morning, the fire spread very rapidly, driven by strong winds that kept shifting direction. It was a terrifying sight,” Mr Tucakovic told national radio on Friday. “Numerous houses, cafes, restaurants, cars and boats that were hauled out of the water were damaged.”

In France, fires were picking up again on Friday in the south-western area of Les Landes, burning through more than 1,000 hectares of land as temperatures again crossed the 40°C threshold. The area witnessed major fires last month that led to the evacuation of 220,000 people.