The persistent heat is leading to severe drought in Europe. Weather services in several countries are warning of renewed extreme temperatures - including in Germany.
According to an estimate, the German Raiffeisen Association expects a grain harvest of 40.6 million tons. In 2025 there were 45 million tons of grain.
The extremely low water levels in the rivers are putting increasing strain on the economy. The low water levels require significantly more trips for the same amount of freight. In Hungary and Romania, the operation of nuclear power plants had to be throttled back due to low water levels.
Forest fires keep breaking out all over Europe due to persistent drought and heat - including in Germany.
The heat is particularly dangerous for older people, pregnant women and people with previous illnesses. According to the Robert Koch Institute, at least 12,500 people died in Germany alone as a result of the recent heat wave.
The Greens are calling for more support and a national strategy for the fire service
Green parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge is calling for better support for the fire brigade in view of the severe forest fires. Dröge said on Deutschlandfunk that it was fundamentally about providing the fire department's work with the best possible financial and human resources. She also proposes a national fire management strategy that combines risk analysis, prevention and operational preparation. More new technologies for early detection and European exchange are also important. “Our southern European neighboring countries have brutally more experience with forest fires,” said Dröge.
Since a large number of fires are man-made, better fire detection is also needed. In addition, the forests would have to be converted so that there are more mixed forests. Rewetting of moors is also necessary.
"It is catastrophic and also to some extent incomprehensible that we as a society cannot finally find the determination to do more to ensure that this does not happen more and more often in the future. And that means fighting the climate crisis. I don't understand why there isn't more determination."
Katharina Dröge, Green Party leader
Forest fire in the Hürtgen Forest still under control
According to the spokeswoman for the Düren district, the forest fire in the Hürtgen Forest in the Eifel is still under control. “But there are still numerous embers,” said the spokeswoman. These are now the focus of firefighting. There are no more open flames. But one cannot yet speak of an end to the situation.
Around 400 emergency services were deployed that night in the Hürtgenwald, where the largest forest fire in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia broke out at the end of last week. During the day there would probably be twice as many again. Unfortunately, the rain was just “a drop in the ocean,” said the spokeswoman. "But we'll take whatever we can get."
Greek fire brigade brings forest fire on Salamis island under control
The Greek fire brigade says it has brought a forest fire on the island of Salamis, near the capital Athens, under control. The situation has improved and there is no longer an “active fire front,” a spokesman for the fire department told the AFP news agency. However, more than 200 firefighters and two fire-fighting helicopters are still deployed on Salamis.
The forest fire killed an elderly couple who were trapped by the flames near their home.
On Sunday, two forest fires broke out almost simultaneously near popular beaches in the south and east of the island. Due to strong winds, the fires spread within minutes. Greek civil defense quickly ordered evacuations after the fires broke out. Hundreds of people were brought to safety by boat. Many Athenians spend their weekends or holidays on the island.
Forest fire in Saarland under control
According to the fire department, the forest fire near Illingen in the Saarland district of Neunkirchen is under control. However, extensive follow-up extinguishing work is still ongoing throughout the entire operational area, the fire department said. In the morning, around 380 emergency services from the fire department, police, the German Red Cross (DRK) and the Technical Relief Agency (THW) were still on site.
According to the latest information, around 18 hectares of forest and meadows between the districts of Wustweiler, Hirzweiler and Hüttigweiler were affected.
Bundeswehr supports Belgium in forest fire
The Bundeswehr is supporting Belgium in fighting a large forest fire from the air. The Defense Ministry said two NH-90 transport helicopters will be used for this purpose.
The operation will initially last seven days. The helicopters are equipped with special fire-fighting water containers. With each flight they can drop around 2,000 liters of water over the fire.
The Bundeswehr had already helped extinguish a large forest fire in the Hürtgen Forest in the Northern Eifel with such helicopters.
Firefighting with firefighting helicopters resumed in the High Fens
When fighting the fire in the High Fens nature reserve in Belgium on the border with Germany, measures can be intensified again during daylight hours. The deputy mayor of Monschau, Franz-Karl Boden, told the dpa news agency.
At the moment it is not assumed that the fire will spread to German territory, said Boden. The fire did not advance any further during the night.
Fire in the High Fens does not move any further towards the German border
The flames in the Belgian nature reserve High Fens are currently no longer advancing towards the German border. Light rain, calm winds and high humidity helped the emergency services get the fire under control. "That's good for us," said a fire department spokesman in the operations control center in Kalterherberg, a district of Monschau. 17 houses there were evacuated during the night.
Associations are calling on the government to take stronger action against the climate crisis
Environmental protection associations have called on the federal government to take increased measures against heat, low water levels and the consequences of the climate crisis. “This extreme summer shows that Germany is not prepared for the heat that is hitting us more and more frequently due to the escalating climate crisis,” said the Federal Managing Director of German Environmental Aid, Barbara Metz, to the Editorial Network Germany (RND). It is overdue to anchor climate protection and climate adaptation as a community task in the Basic Law. This must be backed with sufficient money.
The climate chief of the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) told the RND: "The cabinet must agree on an effective precautionary package that bundles significantly more climate protection, adaptation and investments in intact nature." The environmental organization Greenpeace explained that the climate crisis belongs at the center of the upcoming cabinet meeting.
Help from several European countries
The fire in the High Fens has reached “unprecedented proportions,” said Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin. Belgium therefore receives support from several European countries. In addition to two fire-fighting helicopters with large water tanks from the Netherlands, two fire-fighting planes from Sweden were in action on Sunday afternoon, the Interior Minister wrote to X. Firefighters from Germany and Luxembourg are already on site, according to local authorities.
The Belgian armed forces are also helping against the fire. They provided six fire engines and a tanker, as Defense Minister Theo Francken announced.
Immediate evacuation ordered near Monschau
Because of the large forest fire in the High Fens, the German authorities have ordered an evacuation of parts of the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Monschau. "The current development of the fire in the High Fens requires an immediate evacuation of the following streets in Kalterherberg: Ruitzhof and Geisberg," the city of Monschau announced on its website.
It was said that the houses should be left immediately. An emergency accommodation has been set up at the secondary school in Simmerath. 17 houses and a maximum of 30 people are affected.
It was said that the wind was completely unpredictable and rotated 360 degrees in the course of a single day. It is therefore impossible to predict in which direction the fire will spread. On Sunday evening the fire moved towards the south-southeast. According to the authorities, around 30 square kilometers of area have now been destroyed. The fire broke out on Friday.
Soldier dies during firefighting operation in northern Spain
A soldier has died while fighting a forest fire in northeastern Spain. Regional President Jorge Azcón expressed his “sincere condolences” over the soldier’s death on X. He was deployed in the fight against the fire in the Aragon region. According to local media, his vehicle overturned.
A forest fire has been raging in Aragon for days, threatening, among other things, a medieval monastery. From there, the bones of the first kings of the medieval Kingdom of Aragon were brought to safety on Thursday. In addition, hundreds of people from surrounding towns had to leave their homes.
400 emergency services are fighting forest fires in Saarland
Around 400 emergency services are currently deployed in the Saarland district of Neunkirchen to combat a spreading forest fire. “According to current measurements with a drone, around six hectares of forest area are affected,” said the Saarland Ministry of the Interior. Interior Minister Reinhold Jost got an idea of the situation and the ongoing fire-fighting work on site. An area in the Hirzweiler district of the municipality of Illingen is specifically affected.
“Firefighting is particularly challenging due to the difficult terrain and the complex fire-fighting water supply.”
The emergency services on the ground would receive support from a firefighting helicopter. According to the fire department, the fire had spread towards a farm. Due to the current situation, all horses there were evacuated as a precaution. The state Ministry of the Interior said emergency services were securing the farm to prevent the fire from spreading.
"We ask the population to avoid the area and to keep the access roads clear for arriving rescue workers," said the fire department. The cloud of smoke from the fire was visible from afar, it was said. The forest was closed.
Forest fire in the Westerwald under control
A forest fire in the Westerwald in Rhineland-Palatinate no longer directly threatens residential buildings. “Our measures prevented it from spreading towards buildings,” said Björn Jestrimsky, fire and disaster control inspector for the Altenkirchen district, to the dpa news agency. According to a spokeswoman for the Betzdorf-Gebhardshain municipality, the fire is under control. The evacuation was lifted.
Gebhardshain is located about 60 kilometers east of Bonn in a wooded low mountain region in Rhineland-Palatinate on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia. Previously, residents on a street had been asked to leave their houses immediately. This original evacuation affected 20 families, according to a spokeswoman for the municipal administration.
The situation couldn't be more different
A young Belgian firefighter reports on his last days fighting the major fire in the High Fens nature reserve. He stands about a hundred meters from the roadblock that cordons off the operational area. That's where the fire starts, writes my colleague Matthias Kirsch, who was there. He describes the situation on the border between Germany and Belgium as "absurd" because it couldn't be more different: In Belgium the forest was burned, there was smoke in the air and without FFP2 masks it was hardly possible to spend even a minute outdoors. On the German side, however, "if the sun is shining, tourists are sitting on the terraces in Monschau's old town, the authorities are giving the cautious all-clear."
Belgian authorities are requesting emergency services from Germany
The Belgian authorities have requested emergency services from Germany to fight the largest forest fire in Belgium's history. The Aachen city region announced that support has already started. The emergency services will be deployed in Küchenelscheid, a Belgian neighboring town to Monschau, a spokesman said.
The forces intended for cross-border deployment are currently being assembled. In Monschau itself, the situation is under control: the fire is about 1.5 kilometers from the German border and 1.8 kilometers from German buildings.
