Firefighters in Syria are currently fighting multiple wildfires in the country’s central countryside. The local civil defence officials stated that temperatures have reached 40 degrees Celsius in some areas.
In the central province of Hama, a fire broke out on public farmland. Local authorities are working to prevent it from spreading to nearby areas. The head of the local forest protection centre, Amjad Hammad, provided this information to the state news agency SANA.
Another wildfire is also burning across agricultural zones in the adjacent province of Homs. Civil defence teams are facing difficulties in controlling it due to the challenging mountainous terrain, as reported by the head of civil defence to SANA.
Residents of al-Marana village have evacuated their homes as the approaching wildfire poses a threat, according to the local outlet Sham FM.
The state news agency reported that temperatures on Tuesday were six degrees Celsius higher than the average across the country. Active gusts and “very hot clouds” were also observed.
Temperatures in Palmyra, an ancient city in the province of Homs, reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Meanwhile, the capital Damascus experienced temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit). The shortage of electricity has made it difficult for families to stay cool.
In the capital, some women are using tiny electric fans charged with portable batteries and regularly dipping their feet in cool water to cope with the lack of air conditioning. Mounira Wassouf shared, “We move the couches here, pour water on the ground, and direct the fans towards the ground, then we feel like we are in the Maldives.”
Climate change is suspected to be responsible for erratic rainfall and rising temperatures in Syria. These impacts have had a significant effect on the country, including a 75% decrease in the wheat crop compared to pre-war levels of around 4 million tonnes annually.
Reporting by Kinda Makieh and Yamam al-Shaar; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alex Richardson
Credit: The Star : News Feed
