Northern Morocco in turn affected by major forest fires – archyworldys

The firefighters continued, on the night of Sunday 15 to Monday 16 August, their efforts to fight against fires which devastate for the second consecutive day of the forests in the north of the Morocco, noted AFP journalists.

The changing winds “Do not help control the fire”, explained Rachid El-Anzi, the regional director of water and forests in Chefchaouen. According to him, 200 hectares of forests had already been destroyed by late Sunday evening. “No casualties are to be deplored, priority having been given to preventing the spread of fire to inhabited areas”, he added. The firefighting teams notably benefited from the support of four water bombers.

The causes of these fires are not yet known, said Anzi, believing that the high heat and winds could be triggers. Several regions of the kingdom have recorded temperatures of up to 49 ° C since Friday, according to the meteorology department. High temperatures accompanied by winds were expected until Monday in several regions of Morocco. Heat wave “Exceptional”, between July 9 and 11, had already “Favored the triggering of 20 fires” in the kingdom, burning 1,200 hectares of forests, according to the Department of Water and Forests.

The fires finally “under control” in Algeria

The Mediterranean basin has been affected in the past two weeks by fires, especially in Greece, Turkey and Algeria. In the latter country, more than 90 people have died or gone missing since last Monday in the fires. On Sunday evening, an official from the Directorate General of Civil Protection (DGPC) said that most of the fires had finally been “Mastered” and did not represent “More danger for the inhabitants”.

In the eastern Mediterranean, however, new fires broke out in wooded areas near Jerusalem and homes in several villages were evacuated, Israeli police said. Global warming increases the likelihood of heat waves, droughts and, in turn, fires.