Wildfire risk persists in Türkiye despite autumn rain

ISPARTA

(AA Photo)

Favorable rain created ideal ignition environments by boosting plant growth, experts said, urging authorities to maintain strict preventive measures as autumn arrives.

The situation does not mean the fire season has ended, Isparta Applied Sciences University Rector Yılmaz Çatal said in the southern province of Isparta. High temperatures, low humidity and strong winds alter fire behavior within hours, making Türkiye’s outlook fragile amid Western European heat waves.

August and September form the critical period, as high temperatures in southern and western Anatolia prepare vegetation for ignition. Human activity causes nearly 90 percent of fires, Çatal said. Northern rainfall triggers dry northeasterly winds in the south, complicating firefighting while summer conditions continue in the Aegean and Mediterranean.

Officials must supervise agricultural activities, industrial facilities, energy lines and forest-rural interfaces. Çatal said assigning duties to neighborhood heads and police is essential during this period.

Türkiye recorded a milder 2026 season due to weather and firefighting capacity, but officials must use dynamic risk maps combining meteorological data, terrain, past fires and human mobility. Expanding artificial intelligence, cameras, satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles will help manage these risks, Çatal said, pointing to climate predictions showing the Mediterranean basin will warm faster than the global average.

Heavy rains increased combustible material loads nationwide, Karadeniz Technical University Forestry Faculty Professor Ertuğrul Bilgili said in the northern province of Trabzon. “This increase in combustible material paves the way for a fire to start, grow and develop into a hazard,” he said.

Bilgili said uncontrollable fires strike when combustible moisture drops below 10 percent during strong winds, making mid-July to early August the peak danger period for the Aegean and Mediterranean.

Negligence causes over half of the fires, making public training on evacuation, stubble burning, garden waste clearance and picnic fires essential alongside socio-economic expectations. Officials must base fire prevention on scientific foundations and special funds, expanding controlled burning and using helicopters as primary aerial vehicles, Bilgili said.

Türkiye’s climate causes long, dry summers, leaving coasts highly susceptible to rapid fire spread. The country completely overhauled its emergency response strategies following the 2021 wildfires.