Europe and US on High Alert Amid Heatwaves and Droughts as Wildfires Spread

[Anchor]

Record-breaking heatwaves and severe droughts this summer are fueling the spread of wildfires across Europe and the United States. In Greece, two people were killed after helicopters deployed to fight a wildfire collided, while evacuation orders have been issued in the western United States.

Kwon Yeongin reports from Paris.

[Reporter]

Two firefighting helicopters approach the same area.

Just before releasing water, the vertically overlapping helicopters end up colliding.

The accident killed two pilots aboard the lower helicopter.

The two helicopters had been deployed to battle a massive wildfire northwest of Athens, Greece, that has destroyed more than 100 homes.

In Greece, where wildfires have burned 12,000 hectares—equivalent to 17,000 football fields—over the past week, three firefighters also died during suppression operations.

[Georgios Mavroidis / Greek Resident: This place is truly devastating. It is really not good. The winds are strong, and the direction keeps changing. It is too difficult to handle.]

In Washington state in the western US, multiple wildfires broke out simultaneously, destroying hundreds of homes and prompting emergency evacuations for about 60,000 residents.

In particular, a widespread heat dome phenomenon trapping heat near the surface is intensifying across the western US, raising concerns over further wildfire expansion.

[Dave Upsgrove / Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands: We are in completely unprecedented territory right now. Between the compounded weather conditions and multiple simultaneous fires burning across the West, firefighting resources are stretched to their limits.]

Drought damage is also severe in Europe.

Water levels in the Danube River, which flows through 10 European countries, have dropped to historic lows, forcing Hungary to suspend operations at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant for the first time in 44 years.

Having already restricted water use in about 100 regions including the capital Budapest, the Hungarian government is also considering electricity consumption restrictions for businesses as the shutdown of the Paks plant halts a facility that accounts for 40 percent of the nation's electricity production.

The Rhine River running through Germany has also recorded historic low water levels, causing cargo traffic on canals to plunge to one-third of normal levels.

In France, crop yields are projected to hit a 15-year low, while secondary and tertiary damages from the heatwaves and droughts continue to spread.

(Video by Kim Si-nae | Video Editing by Jung Sung-hoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.