Wildfires continue to sweep Turkey

Farmers in the Southern coast of Turkey are facing apocalyptic scenes as wildfires continue to sweep the country.

 Atleast 8 people have died in more than 100 blazes that broke out earlier this week, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. Thousands of farm animals and untold numbers of wild animals also perished in the fires.

The flames have been fueled by scorching summer temperatures and conditions that experts say have been worsened by climate change. Winds gusting at 50km per hour, low humidity and temperatures hovering near 40C have made controlling the fires difficult, Bekir Pakdemirli, the forestry minister, said on Twitter.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared parts of five provinces on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast “disaster zones,” following a helicopter visit to the devastated areas.

“We will continue to take all steps to heal the wounds of our people, to compensate for losses and to improve opportunities to better than before,” the president added in a tweet Saturday.

Several other Mediterranean countries are battling blazes this summer, including Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon and Italy, and scientists have said the extreme weather events across the globe this summer may be the result of global warming.

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