Summer is wildfire season in southern Europe, but this year the continent's north is also at risk, with forest fire warnings in effect from Scotland to the Nordic and Baltic countries.
A lack of rain and rising temperatures have led to dangerously dry conditions in the region, leading to worries of a repeat of the summer of 2018 when major wildfires swept across Sweden in particular.Small wildfires are already burning in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Scotland and experts worry it could get much worse unless there's significant rainfall in coming weeks.
SMHI says southern Sweden received very little rain in May and not a single drop so far in June, leaving the soil exceptionally dry. The agency says the risk of wildfires is now "extremely high" in the southern half of the country, including the Stockholm region, and even though there's some rain in the forecast this weekend, it's unlikely enough to have a significant impact, Hjerdt said.
Experts say the drought could be related to the transition of La Nina to El Nino climatic conditions in the Pacific, which shifts weather patterns across the world, and often leads to dry summers in northern Europe. "The heat wave can stay on the surface for next week as well and spread all the way to Lapland," said the Finnish institute's meteorologist Tuomo Bergman, referring to Finland's northernmost area. No substantial rain was expected in Finland until around Midsummer, June 24, he said, when traditional bonfires will be banned.
"If there is no rain soon, future harvests will suffer," the industry group said in a statement. It noted that due to the hot and dry summer of 2018, the industry lost almost the entire grain harvest at a cost of approximately 10 billion Swedish kronor . Parts of the Balkans are now experiencing heavy floods caused by strong and persistent rain. Highways and roads have been closed in Serbia and Montenegro due to landslides, some bridges have collapsed and hundreds of people have been rescued from flooded homes and cars.
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