At least 34 people were killed in Algeria, where on Tuesday 8,000 firefighters battled blazes across the tinder-dry north. Fires burned in 15 provinces, leading to the evacuation of more than 1,500 people.
Witnesses described fleeing walls of flames that destroyed homes and coastal resorts and turned vast forest areas into blackened wastelands.
The Algerian online news site TSA quoted the National Meteorological Office as saying temperatures had reached 50C in some regions.
Among those killed this week were 10 soldiers trapped by flames at Beni Ksila, in Béjaïa province, according to the defence ministry. The official APS news agency reported on Monday night that 34 people had died across several regions.
Fires forced the closure of two border crossings with Tunisia, where blazes have been especially fierce in the north-western Tabarka region. Tunisia's TAP news agency reported one death, that of a school principal who died of asphyxiation from a fire in Nafza.
Wildfires also broke out in the woodlands of Latakia, in north-western Syria, and helicopters were being used to extinguish fires.
Italy has been hit by violent storms and wildfires. At least seven people were killed on Tuesday after storms in the north and wildfires in Sicily.
Denne historien er fra July 27, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra July 27, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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