Hitze-brande - People protest in Bulgaria (heat-branded)
In extreme heat in Bulgaria, firefighters and volunteers are battling numerous forest and field fires. The southeastern part of the Balkan country has been hit the hardest, according to Bulgarian media reports on Sunday. There, over 7300 hectares of forest and agricultural land have already burned, but no people were injured.
Fire could spread to Turkey
The fires in the Swilengrad region, where a state of emergency was declared, could spread to Turkey, as reported by the private TV station bTV in Sofia. In the Plovdiv region in the south, the army was also deployed to fight fires. Traffic was rerouted due to a fire parallel to the highway to Varna on the Black Sea.
Meteorologists see no end to Bulgaria's first major heatwave this summer. Temperatures are expected to rise further above 40 degrees Celsius in many places in the coming days.
The Fire department in Sofia is on high alert due to the potential spread of the area fire from Bulgaria towards Turkey. Despite the ongoing battles against forest and field fires, Turkey's Turkey-facing areas remain at risk. The weather forecast predicts relentless heatwave conditions in Bulgaria, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, which could further intensify the fire situation.
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