Now Reading: Europe wildfires unearth and ignite WWII bombs
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Europe wildfires unearth and ignite WWII bombs
Wildfires across Europe are increasingly setting off or exposing unexploded bombs from the two world wars, a report says. In July, a blaze in Germany's Muritz National Park forced bomb disposal teams…
The Story in Brief
Wildfires across Europe are increasingly setting off or exposing unexploded bombs from the two world wars, a report says. In July, a blaze in Germany's Muritz National Park forced bomb disposal teams to work beside firefighters because the forest floor holds cold war-era munitions. In south-western France's Gironde region, a fire near Le Porge uncovered a forgotten cache of at least 75 shells, one of which punched through a house wall. The local mayor, Martial Zaninetti, said the municipality had no record the munitions were there.
The danger grows as fires burn hotter and longer, especially in peat, transferring sustained heat into the ground. In 2025, a six-week moorland fire in North Yorkshire, UK, set off more than 20 buried shells. Burning vegetation also exposes munitions, as happened at Le Porge. Hindustan Times reports that extreme heat alone triggered explosions at six sites in Iraq in 2018-19, and that climate change is doubling fire-prone summer days in southern Europe.
The Indian Opinion
The story of Europe's buried bombs is being told largely as a climate change warning, but the immediate danger is older and simpler. Decades of corrosion make fuses more sensitive, and land left untouched since 1945 is now burning. Any reader who sees this as just another environmental scare should ask one question: how many of these munitions were found during routine clearances before the recent fire seasons? The number is not in the report, but it settles the matter. Watch for Germany's clearance service data, area by area, to see whether fire or neglect is the real catalyst.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
