The heat dome is still hovering over the Mediterranean and is particularly severe in the Maghreb. In recent days, Algeria and Tunisia have been victims of large fires, recording temperatures of up to 50 degrees in the shade.
The entire Maghreb has been hit by a particularly severe heat peak in recent days. In addition to temperatures well above normal for the season, Tunisia and Algeria are also facing severe fires. Fires have killed at least 34 people in recent days, including 10 soldiers helping residents. According to the Algerian interior ministry, they were surrounded by flames in Beni Ksila on the Mediterranean coast.
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In two days, Algiers recorded 97 fire outbreaks on its territory. According to civil protection, there are only 13 active outbreaks: the spokesman calmed down and hopes to be able to announce their complete eradication soon. “After an uninterrupted mobilization during the night from Monday to Tuesday, civil protection was able to extinguish the majority of the fires, namely 80%,” said the Ministry of the Interior in a press release on Tuesday 25 July.
The fiercest fires are currently raging in north-eastern Algeria, particularly in Kabylia. Due to strong winds, the fires spread to residential areas where 1,500 people had to be evacuated. Up to 8,000 civil protection workers and 525 trucks were deployed on Tuesday, July 24.
Canadairs… not arriving
Local media footage showed burning fields and bushland, charred cars and burned store fronts. Beach resorts on the coast that are popular with summer guests were also destroyed by the flames. The affected villages, many of which are in the mountainous region of Kabylia, are heavily forested and have been exposed to an intense heatwave for weeks that has dried out vegetation and left them vulnerable to the slightest outbreak of fire.
While the fires in Algeria have unfortunately become a dramatic soap opera every summer, this year they are particularly fierce and the forests are highly flammable as they are polluted and poorly maintained. The local population suffered from the consequences of these fires and this oppressive heat and condemned the “overwhelmed” authorities. “With all these measures, why couldn’t we prevent the disaster?” asks the TSA news site on Tuesday, wondering “what is preventing Canadair from acquiring enough numbers,” why “the forest edge villages are not adequately protected,” “who is responsible for deforestation,” and what “responsibility rests with residents and local authorities.”
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And then there is also a lack of air resources: Algiers, however, triggered the general mobilization last spring with the procurement of water bombers, including six rented in South America. They had also placed orders for Canadair in Russia but these never arrived due to the war in Ukraine. Authorities had also set up helipads in 10 prefectures and mobilized locally-made drones for fire prevention. “It’s the eternal controversy. We always wonder why the authorities don’t have Canadair when the funds are there,” lamented journalist Karim Kébir. There is also a form of laxity on the part of the Algerian authorities in taking preventive measures, such as digging fireplaces in vulnerable areas or clearing forests and tending them regularly.
An unbearable situation for the residents
If the fires are so intense, it is also because of the oppressive heat that is drying out the vegetation. Driven by the wind, these fires then spread to neighboring Tunisia. In the seaside resort of Tabarka on the Algerian-Tunisian border, Mongi Zaouwi, owner of a diving club, had to make his boats available to evacuate tourists. “People were between a rock and a hard place, between fire and sea,” says Mongi. The manager assures that it is the first time that he has found himself in such a situation where he has to help the population. Identical scenes were shared on social networks: residents slept on beaches.
In Tunisia, the measured temperatures are six to ten degrees above the normal value for the season. On Monday morning, temperatures in the center of Tunis rose to 49 degrees in the shade and even up to 56 degrees at noon on Bourguiba Avenue in direct sunlight, a pharmacy screen shows. The situation is similar in neighboring Algeria. Local authorities have imposed “orange vigilance” on five prefectures because of the heatwave. In these areas the mercury reaches 48°C.
In addition to the unbreathable air, daily life has become hell for the population. Several Tunisians explain on social networks that the water that flows when they turn on their tap is hot: the pipes that supply homes are often exposed to the sun or buried very shallowly.
Numerous power outages are also reported. In Tunisia, too, the public electricity company has set up load shedding in order to maintain the performance of the grid. These 30-minute to hour-long cuts are important to avoid overheating. There have also been power outages in Algeria for several days. However, the situation should improve as temperatures will drop back to normal temperatures of around 39°C in July.