Europe’s wildfires are awakening bombs left from two World Wars

Wildfires raging across Europe this summer have exposed a deadly threat beneath the scorched landscape: rusting bombs and mines left from World War I and World War II. According to the Associated Press, intense heat in countries including France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands has caused some of these munitions, buried for decades, to detonate. Experts state that climate change, by driving drought and stripping away vegetation, has exposed these old weapons to direct heat, increasing the risk of explosion. In Belgium’s Liège province, authorities reported several sporadic explosions within fire zones. In France, a major wildfire near Bordeaux exposed a cache of ammunition believed to date from World War II. In Belgium, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Destruction Service responds to over 3,000 calls annually, neutralizing between 200 and 250 tons of wartime ammunition. Beyond wildfires, receding water levels in rivers and lakes in countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, and Germany have also led to the discovery of old naval mines and bombs.