Wildfires grow worldwide as climate sizzles

The summer season of wildfires is growing more intense and destructive as the climate sizzles.

July was the planet’s hottest month in 142 years of record keeping, according to U.S. weather officials. Several U.S. states — including California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — also saw their hottest ever July.

In August, wildfires continued to rage across the western United States and Canada, southern Europe, northern Africa, Russia, Israel and elsewhere.

In Greece, which is suffering its most severe heat wave in decades, a large wildfire this week threatened villages outside Athens. Thousands of people were evacuated from homes in a region of the French Riviera threatened by blazing fires. Recent wildfires have killed at least 75 people in Algeria and 16 in Turkey, local officials said.

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A home burns on Jeters Road as the Dixie fire jumps Highway 395 south of Janesville, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Critical fire weather throughout the region threatens to spread multiple wildfires burning in Northern California. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Drought conditions and high temperatures in northern California have given rise to the Dixie Fire, which has been ablaze for a month and burned more than 1,000 square miles. Some 1,600 people in Lake County were recently ordered to flee approaching flames, and children were rushed out of an elementary school as a nearby field burned.

Last week a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called Earth’s rapidly warming temperatures a “ code red for humanity.” The report calls climate change clearly human-caused and “an established fact,” and co-author and climate scientist Linda Mearns told the AP that the disrupted global climate leaves “nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.”

Volunteers pause while working at the scene of a forest fire near Kyuyorelyakh village at Gorny Ulus area west of Yakutsk, in Russia Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. Wildfires in Russia's vast Siberia region endangered a dozen villages Saturday and prompted authorities to evacuate some residents. (AP Photo/Ivan Nikiforov)

Tree feller Nathan Spangle examines trees scorched by the Dixie Fire in Lassen County, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Critical fire weather throughout the region threatens to spread multiple wildfires burning in Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews stroll through the Machane Yehuda market under a sky darkened by nearby wildfires, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A firefighter battles the Dixie Fire shortly after it jumped Highway 395 south of Janesville in Lassen County, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Critical fire weather throughout the region threatens to spread multiple wildfires burning in Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Turkish volunteers rest as they fight wildfires in Turgut village, near tourist resort of Marmaris, Mugla, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. As Turkish fire crews pressed ahead Tuesday with their weeklong battle against blazes tearing through forests and villages on the country's southern coast, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government faced increased criticism over its apparent poor response and inadequate preparedness for large-scale wildfires.(AP Photo/Emre Tazegul)

A helicopter participates in a wildfire extinguishing operation, in Koycegiz, Mugla, Turkey, Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. Wildfires in Turkey, described as Turkey's worst in living memory, started on July 28 amid a ferocious heatwave and raged on for days across more than half of Turkey's provinces. At least eight people and countless animals have been killed and villages and resorts had to be evacuated, with some people fleeing to beaches to be rescued by sea.(AP Photo/Emre Tazegul)

Smoke spreads over the sea as local residents and tourists use a ferry to evacuate Pefki village on Evia island, about 189 kilometers (118 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021. Pillars of billowing smoke and ash are blocking out the sun above Greece's second-largest island as a days-old wildfire devours pristine forests and triggers more evacuation alerts. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Destiney Barnard holds Raymond William Goetchius while stranded at a gas station near the Dixie Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Doyle, Calif. Barnard was helping Goetchius and his family evacuate from Susanville when her car broke down. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Hunter McKee pets Rosy after helping evacuate the horse to the edge of Lake Almanor as the Dixie Fire approaches Chester, Calif, on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. Officials issued evacuation orders for the town earlier in the day as dry and windy conditions led to increased fire activity. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

In this long exposure photo, embers fly from burning trees as the Caldor Fire grows on Mormom Emigrant Trail east of Sly Park, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A man drops water to burning trees during a wildfire in Adames area, northern Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. Hundreds of residents living near a forest area north of Athens fled their homes Tuesday as a wildfire reached residential areas as Greece grappled with its worst heatwave in decades. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

Trees burned by the White Rock Lake wildfire are seen in an aerial view southeast of Kamloops, British Columbia, on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

The remains of a classic car is seen on a property destroyed by the White Rock Lake wildfire in Monte Lake, east of Kamloops, British Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Evacuated campers play cards in a gymnasium in Bormes-les-Mimosas, southern France, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Firefighters have been able to "stabilize" the blaze that raced Tuesday through forests near the French Riviera, forcing thousands of people to flee homes, campgrounds and hotels in a picturesque area beloved by residents and tourists alike.. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

A car leaves Chester, Calif., which is under mandatory evacuation orders, as the Dixie Fire burns on the edge of town on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. The region is under red flag fire warnings due to dry, windy conditions. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

People use a ferry to evacuate from Pefki village on Evia island, about 189 kilometers (118 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021. Pillars of billowing smoke and ash are blocking out the sun above Greece's second-largest island as a days-old wildfire devours pristine forests and triggers more evacuation alerts. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

People stand in front of Kemerkoy Thermal Power Plant with the blaze approaching in the background, in Milas, Mugla, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoganÕs government is facing increased criticism over its apparent poor response and inadequate preparedness for large-scale wildfires that have left eight people dead and forced thousands to flee their homes. (AP Photo/Emre Tazegul)

A man throws water from a swimming pool as the fire approaches his house in Ippokratios Politia village, about 35 kilometres (21 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021. Thousands of people fled wildfires burning out of control in Greece and Turkey on Friday, as a protracted heat wave turned forests into tinderboxes and flames threatened populated areas, electricity installations and historic sites. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

A sculpture rests in front of a Grizzly Flats home destroyed by the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firemen use a hose to extinguish a fire near Le Luc, southern France, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Thousands of people fled homes, campgrounds and hotels near the French Riviera on Tuesday as firefighters battled a blaze that raced through nearby forests, sending smoke pouring down wooded slopes toward vineyards in the picturesque area. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

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Text from AP News story, AP PHOTOS: Wildfires grow worldwide as climate sizzles.

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