Wildfires burning across southern Europe in the last month — whether sparked naturally by lightning, or by arsonists — have been fanned by drought and extreme heat. On Wednesday 11 August, Italy might have recorded Europe’s highest temperature ever as Sicily hit 48.8 degrees Celsius. States affected – Italy (fires have been burning across the island since July), Cyprus (daily alert for forest fires since June), Greece (“natural disaster of unprecedented proportions”), Spain, France and Turkey.
