标签： Oceania

As a brutal heatwave pushes temperatures past 40 degrees Celsius across the Mediterranean, fast-moving wildfires have ripped through populated and forested areas of Italy, France and Spain this week, leaving three firefighters dead and forcing tens of thousands of residents and tourists to flee their homes and accommodations. The ongoing disaster comes as climate scientists have long warned that human-caused fossil fuel emissions are intensifying extreme weather events, making heatwaves and wildfires more frequent, longer-running, and far more destructive than historical averages. In Italy, the island of Sicily has become one of the hardest-hit regions, where roughly 6,000 first responders including firefighters, forest rangers and civil protection personnel have battled dozens of blazes that have burned uncontrolled for days. Even with the support of water-bombing aircraft, crews have struggled to contain the flames, fueled by extremely high temperatures and parched, drought-stricken soil that acts as kindling for wildfires. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi confirmed one firefighter died after suffering a medical emergency while on the fire lines, with the nation’s Civil Protection Agency describing the overall situation on the island as “serious.” To the northeast of Sicily, the adjacent Calabria region has recorded more than 160 separate blazes, with local civil protection chief blaming most of the fires on intentional arson perpetrated by “malicious individuals.” In one shocking allegation, he claimed arsonists tied flammable liquid-soaked rags to the tails of stray cats to ignite new fires across the region. Across the border in southwestern France, more than 10,000 tourists were forced to evacuate campgrounds and holiday rentals near Bordeaux on Thursday after a wildfire tore through a coastal pine forest. The Le Porge blaze has consumed more than 2,000 hectares of land – an area roughly three times the size of Gibraltar – since it ignited on Wednesday. Two firefighters were killed on Tuesday while battling a separate blaze near Bordeaux Airport, a loss that came as fire department unions warned crews were already stretched to breaking point, facing widespread exhaustion and critical shortages of resources. Wilfried Schneider, a fire captain on the ground in Le Porge, described the blaze as having an intensity rarely seen in the region, fueled by densely packed pine stands that burn hot and spread quickly. “We saw a big cloud of black smoke spread across the sky in the middle of the afternoon,” said Julie Leonard, a 30-something Bordeaux resident who traveled with her family to a safe observation point outside the evacuation zone. Bernard Roche, a 75-year-old long-term resident of the area who evacuated his cabin, noted that conditions had been exceptionally dry for weeks. “If I’d been brave, I would have stayed in my cabin, but it was too hot. I got in my car and left,” Roche said. While Le Porge mayor Martial Zaninetti suggested the fire may have started from a machine used to clear forest tracks, no official cause has been confirmed. Local authorities confirmed that 700 residents evacuated their homes as a precaution, with an additional 3,000 campers relocated to safer areas further from the fire. Further north in Spain, emergency officials reported Thursday that progress on containing a large wildfire south of Madrid has allowed most displaced residents to return to their homes. That blaze ignited Wednesday near Toledo, roughly 75 kilometers from the Spanish capital, prompting immediate evacuation orders for multiple communities as flames advanced toward residential areas. Only residents of El Encinar del Alberche in Villa del Prado municipality remain under evacuation orders as of Thursday. Fire crews called overnight containment progress “very positive,” though the blaze has not been fully stabilized and multiple regional roads remain closed. Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle a much larger, older blaze in Guadalajara province, roughly 100 kilometers north of Madrid, which has burned nearly 32,000 hectares since it started one week ago. According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System, Spain has already lost more than 393,000 hectares of land to wildfires in 2025 – the worst annual wildfire toll in the country’s modern recorded history.

Japan is currently grappling with an unprecedented extreme heatwave that has officially been labeled a national disaster, leaving at least 14 people dead and forcing hundreds of residents and visitors into hospital care for heat-related illnesses. On Thursday, Tokyo Fire Department officials released staggering daily figures confirming that 453 people required emergency hospital treatment for heatstroke and related complications on Wednesday alone — the highest single-day count recorded since the city began tracking such statistics 16 years ago in 2008. Emergency service callouts for heat-related incidents also hit a record high not seen since consistent record-keeping began in 1963.

The unprecedented surge in heat-related hospitalizations comes as much of the island nation bakes under consistent high temperatures, with the death toll rising to at least 14 across the country over the past seven days, per data from Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. In Tokyo prefecture, home to roughly 14 million residents, one person has already died from heat-related causes in this event, with four more in critical condition and 18 others classified as seriously ill.

“We are urgently urging people across the capital to stay consistently hydrated and run air conditioning whenever possible to avoid heatstroke,” a fire department spokesperson told reporters. The spokesperson added that patient numbers have climbed steadily alongside rising temperatures, with sharp, worrying increases reported on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tourists visiting popular Tokyo attractions have described the conditions as punishing, with many altering entire travel itineraries to prioritize access to cool spaces. Nick Estes, a 35-year-old American tourist visiting Tokyo’s historic Asakusa district with his family, noted the extreme conditions felt even more intense than his trip last summer. “We’ve planned every part of our day around staying cool: spending time on the air-conditioned metro, popping into small air-conditioned souvenir shops, doing anything we can to bring our body temperatures down,” Estes explained. “Especially with young kids, it’s been absolutely brutal. I was here last summer, and somehow it feels even hotter this year.”

Central Japanese regions have seen some of the worst heat, with Aichi Prefecture — home to the major city of Nagoya and Toyota Motor’s global headquarters — reporting 116 hospitalizations on Wednesday alone. Nationwide, heatstroke alerts have been issued for nearly all of Japan’s 125 million residents, and the disaster management agency has formally categorized the event as a disaster.

“Temperatures have climbed steadily since mid-July, and severe heat is forecast to continue across the entire country,” the agency stated in an official release. “It is no exaggeration to call this extreme heat a disaster, given how many people are being rushed to hospitals or even losing their lives to heatstroke.”

By early afternoon Thursday, at least six locations across Japan recorded temperatures of 40°C or higher, with three more sites hitting 39.9°C. The highest reading was logged in Hamamatsu, located in central Shizuoka Prefecture, which hit 41.1°C. Toyota City followed at 40.8°C, and Kuwana in Mie Prefecture reached 40.7°C. Japan’s all-time record high temperature of 41.8°C was set just last month in Isesaki, north of Tokyo.

This year, Japanese authorities introduced a new official term for days with temperatures exceeding 40°C: kokushobi, which translates to “cruelly hot day.” The label was created to draw greater public attention to the severe risks of extreme heat, though it does not trigger mandatory nationwide emergency measures.

Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that human-caused climate change is steadily increasing both the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events across Japan and the globe. Last year, Japan experienced the hottest summer on its national record, a trend that visitors and residents alike say they are noticing firsthand.

“You leave your hotel at 8:30 in the morning and it already feels like midday, and it just gets hotter and hotter as the day goes on,” said Yesenia Gueta, a 47-year-old tourist from Los Angeles. “Now I understand why Japanese clothing is loose, and why people carry umbrellas to block the sun all the time. This heat is extreme, and that new name ‘cruelly hot day’ fits perfectly.”

Many Japanese residents are also expressing growing anxiety about what the coming weeks of summer will bring, with temperatures already hitting record levels in mid-July. “Since it’s already this hot in mid-July, I’m worried about what August will be like,” said 24-year-old Japanese university student Nukochama, who carries a fully charged portable electric fan at all times to stay cool.

Beneath the bright summer sun of the Swiss Alps, piercing shrieks—half thrill, half nervous excitement—cut through the crisp mountain air as a chairlift approaches Grand Chamossaire peak, the centerpiece of Villars ski resort. Perched 2,110 meters above sea level, a striking 12-meter V-shaped steel structure holds the resort’s newest star attraction: a giant swing that launches riders out over a steep, open void, with sweeping panoramic views of snow-dusted Alpine peaks and rolling green valleys stretching out before them.

The attraction, which opened to the public earlier this month, is far more than just a new adventure activity for thrill-seekers. It represents a strategic, long-term adaptation by Alpine ski resorts to a shifting climate, as rising temperatures make winter snowfall increasingly unpredictable at many mid-altitude mountain locations. For Villars-Gryons-Diableret, the region that manages the Villars resort, the goal is simple: diversify tourist offerings to draw more off-season visitors, put underused ski lift infrastructure to work in summer, and protect the local tourism economy that supports hundreds of jobs.

Martin Deburaux, head of the ski area, told Agence France-Presse that while the past two winter seasons have actually drawn record visitor numbers—as skiers who once frequented lower-altitude slopes now travel higher to find reliable snow—the resort is planning ahead for an uncertain future. “We know we are facing climate change,” Deburaux explained. “We are looking for substitutes to conserve jobs, the dynamism and the tourist economy built up around our ski lift facilities.”

Right now, the gap between winter and summer visitor numbers is stark: the resort welcomes more than 700,000 guests during the winter ski season, but only around 100,000 in the summer months. Resort leaders aim to triple summer visitor volumes over the next few years, a goal that requires building a diverse lineup of warm-weather activities beyond skiing. The giant swing is just the latest addition to a growing portfolio that already includes hiking trails, mountain biking routes, and a large-scale ephemeral land art fresco by French artist Saype, which covers an entire hillside with an image of a child drawing.

In a nod to travelers who seek quiet, undisturbed nature alongside adventure, resort planners intentionally sited the new swing in an area already zoned for recreational activities, leaving larger swathes of the mountain untouched for visitors who prefer peaceful Alpine scenery over adrenaline rushes. Accessible to anyone with a ski lift ticket, the swing can accommodate up to three riders at once. Each participant sits on a saddle shaped like the body of an Alpine ibex, grips sturdy handlebars, and is secured with heavy safety straps before a system of cables and pulleys pulls them back to a 90-degree suspended position, hanging face-down hundreds of meters above the valley floor.

When the safety release triggers, the swing lurches forward into a dramatic plunge that elicits everything from joyful screams to breathless laughter from riders. Many who have tested the attraction describe the experience as equal parts terrifying and exhilarating. “I had a bit of a pit in my stomach before getting strapped in,” said Alexandra Henchoz, a 37-year-old visitor who tried the swing with her husband and 10-year-old daughter. “But once it is happening, it is just incredible. You feel like a bird flying.”

Other visitors echoed that mix of fear and delight. Yannick Boudouin, 38, called the moment of release “an amazing sensation,” while his partner Anais Fougairolles, 31, described it as “a mini free-fall and then nothing but fun.” Seventy-year-old Marc Truffer admitted he was so scared he couldn’t even scream during the initial plunge. “It took my breath away going down, but then the view was magnificent,” he said.

As climate change continues to reshape the Alpine landscape, the Grand Chamossaire swing offers a model for how mountain resort communities are proactively reimagining their economies, balancing the need to grow off-season tourism with respect for the fragile natural environment that draws visitors to the region in the first place.