Albanian firefighters combat wildfires amid European heatwave

On Aug 5, Albanian firefighters fought a wildfire in the Mallakaster region, forcing the evacuation of about 15 families with their livestock and pets. The blaze, likely ignited by lightning, threatened houses near the village of Riban and spread across rocky terrain south of the city of Gjirokaster.

The fire occurs as a severe heatwave grips southern and eastern Europe. Italy placed major cities under red heat alerts as temperatures approached 40 °C, Hungary urged households and companies to cut power use, and Budapest prepared for peaks of 40‑42 °C. In neighbouring Greece, a separate wildfire near a popular holiday area northwest of Athens, possibly caused by vibrating power lines, destroyed homes and thousands of hectares of farmland. The dry summer is also damaging agriculture, with Britain’s cereal harvest projected to be the worst since 1984.