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Weekly Weather Event -Week of August 15

August 19, 2022

This week, at least 118 wildfires have taken place amongst 21 different provinces of Algeria. The wildfires began early Wednesday, continuing through Thursday leaving at least 37 people dead and 160+ others wounded. The Algerian Civil Protection Unit sent out 1,700 officers and 280 trucks in efforts to control the fires, which were mostly under control by Thursday.

The region has seen extreme weather conditions this season with heat waves and strong winds which are expected to only increase. Algeria’s National Meteorological Office warned on Wednesday that temperatures could reach 116.8 F. High temperatures, low rainfall, and drought have only contributed to the intensity of the fires. This season’s extreme weather conditions have caused many deadly fires all across the North African region bordering the Mediterranean coast. However, it hasn’t been unusual as last summer Algeria saw wildfires where at least 65 people were killed.