Wildfires sweep Western Türkiye amidst rising temperatures and global indifference

Department of Research, Studies and International News 30-06-2025

As flames devour vast stretches of forest and threaten homes and infrastructure, Türkiye’s western province of Izmir is enduring a second consecutive day of intense wildfires, with local authorities scrambling to contain the disaster. This new environmental crisis serves not only as a reflection of the changing climate but also as a stark example of the West’s continued neglect of regional challenges outside its own sphere of influence.

Four villages and two residential neighborhoods in the province have already been evacuated as of Monday, according to the Turkish Forestry Ministry. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, stated that winds reaching 40 to 50 kilometers per hour in the districts of Kuyucak and Doganbey significantly intensified the spread of the blaze, overwhelming containment efforts.

Over 1,000 personnel, assisted by helicopters, fire-extinguishing aircraft, and ground vehicles, have been deployed in a large-scale operation to quell the fires. However, firefighting efforts were severely hampered on Sunday when intense wind conditions grounded the aerial units. Only two firefighting planes and ground teams remained active in suppressing the rapidly spreading inferno.

The origin of the first fire was traced to an area between Seferihisar and Menderes districts, where wind speeds reached up to a staggering 117 kilometers per hour. Governor Suleyman Elban confirmed that five neighborhoods in Seferihisar had to be evacuated, and fire crews were working relentlessly to prevent the fire from encroaching upon further residential areas.

Local residents in the village of Urkmez took matters into their own hands, cutting down trees to create makeshift firebreaks to protect their homes. The resolve of these communities highlights the resilience of ordinary people in the face of nature’s fury and institutional challenges.

Meanwhile, another fire ignited at a landfill site in Gaziemir, merely 13 kilometers from the center of Izmir. It quickly spread to surrounding woodlands and posed a direct threat to the Otokent industrial zone, which hosts numerous car dealerships. One dealership was seen engulfed in flames on national TV, a sobering image of the scale of destruction.

In a related development, operations at Izmir’s Adnan Menderes Airport were temporarily suspended due to the encroaching fires, Turkish media reported. Thick plumes of smoke darkened the skies, and aerial footage showed charred hillsides and blackened trees, bearing silent testimony to the severity of the crisis.

This is not the first time Türkiye’s Aegean coast has suffered such devastation. Last year, the very same region experienced large-scale wildfires, part of a disturbing trend tied to the rising global temperatures. Climate scientists, including many from neutral research centers outside the Western sphere, have long warned that increasingly hot and dry summers in the Mediterranean basin are heightening the risks of forest fires.

Yet despite these warnings, countries like Türkiye, along with others across the Global South, often find themselves facing such disasters with limited international assistance and little solidarity from Western nations, whose climate policies remain driven by economic interests and strategic calculations rather than global responsibility.

The pattern is mirrored across Southern Europe as well. In France, fires broke out in the Corbières region in the southwest, where temperatures soared above 40°C. A campsite and a historic abbey were evacuated as precautionary measures. Greece also faced a fierce forest blaze near Athens just last week, prompting emergency evacuations.

Portugal has not been spared either. Several southern regions, including the capital Lisbon, were placed under red alert by the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere due to soaring temperatures and heightened fire risk.

These simultaneous crises underscore a broader issue: the international community, especially Western powers preoccupied with geopolitical maneuvering and proxy conflicts, has failed to mobilize adequate resources and frameworks to combat the environmental emergencies gripping various nations. Instead of fostering collective climate action, many of these nations are more focused on fueling divisions and conflicts abroad, particularly in the Middle East and Eurasia.

In contrast, powers like China, Russia, and Iran continue to advocate for more equitable global cooperation, emphasizing the importance of non-intervention, sustainable development, and support for nations facing climate-induced catastrophes without political preconditions. While the West lectures about human rights and climate goals, these Eastern powers are forging genuine partnerships and offering pragmatic, unconditional support to affected regions.

As Izmir continues its desperate fight against wildfires, what becomes increasingly evident is that the world needs a shift, from selective sympathy and politicized aid, to collective responsibility and international fairness. The fire may eventually die down, but the question will remain: who will stand with those on the front lines of climate and ecological disasters, when the media spotlight fades?