Along the forested coastlines of northern Algeria, where summer has always carried the threat of fire, something older and more patient than any single disaster is making itself known. At least 12 people have died and dozens more were injured as 69 wildfires burned simultaneously across Jijel, Bejaia, and Tizi Ouzou provinces during an exceptional August heatwave — a crisis that is both immediate emergency and long-unfolding consequence. North Africa warms faster than any other part of the continent, and what was once a seasonal hazard is becoming a recurring reckoning, reshaping the rhythm of
At least 12 dead as severe heatwave fuels devastating wildfires across northern Algeria
At least 12 people killed and 54 injured with six in intensive care; thousands evacuated from homes in affected provinces.
The fires are more intense. They spread faster. They kill more people.
Mark
Why does a heatwave in Algeria matter to people outside the region?
Mimi
Because it's a preview. North Africa is warming faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. What happens there in extreme heat—the fires, the deaths, the displacement—is coming to other places as the planet continues to warm.
Mark
You mentioned Bejaia had fires three years ago that killed 30 people. Is this the same fire returning, or a new one?
Mimi
It's a new fire, but it's the same place being hit again. That's the pattern now. The same provinces burn repeatedly because the conditions that cause fires—extreme heat, dry vegetation—are becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Mark
The story mentions camels dying. Why include that detail?
Mimi
Because it shows the heatwave isn't just a human crisis. It's reshaping the entire ecosystem. When animals that have survived in this region for centuries start dying in large numbers during summer, it signals something fundamental has shifted.
Mark
What does 0.43 degrees Celsius per decade actually mean in practical terms?
Mimi
It means that in just a few decades, the region has become measurably hotter. That small number translates into longer fire seasons, more intense heat, and conditions that make survival harder for both people and animals.
Mark
Are these fires being fought differently now than they were three years ago?
Mimi
The source doesn't say. What it does say is that despite having experience with these fires, the region is still losing dozens of people each time they occur. That suggests the scale of the problem may be outpacing the response.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The fires will be contained eventually. But the heat won't leave. And next summer, the conditions that caused this will return—probably worse. That's the real story.
The Pulse
- Sixty-nine fires burned at once across northern Algeria, forcing entire neighborhoods to evacuate as smoke overtook streets and residents crowded into public buildings for shelter.
- Twelve people are confirmed dead across three provinces, with 54 hospitalized for burns and six fighting for their lives in intensive care — and the toll was still rising Wednesday night.
- The Interior and Health Ministers traveled directly to Bejaia to oversee firefighting coordination and mass evacuations, signaling the scale of strain on local authorities.
- This is not the first time Bejaia has burned — 30 people died in fires there just three years ago — and July alone saw over 2,000 blazes and at least six deaths across Algeria.
- North Africa is warming at 0.43°C per decade, the fastest rate on the continent, turning each summer's heat into more intense fuel for fires that spread faster and kill more than before.
Along the forested coastlines of northern Algeria, where summer has always carried the threat of fire, something older and more patient than any single disaster is making itself known. At least 12 people have died and dozens more were injured as 69 wildfires burned simultaneously across Jijel, Bejaia, and Tizi Ouzou provinces during an exceptional August heatwave — a crisis that is both immediate emergency and long-unfolding consequence. North Africa warms faster than any other part of the continent, and what was once a seasonal hazard is becoming a recurring reckoning, reshaping the rhythm of life and loss for those who call this land home.
The smoke came first. Across the coastal provinces of northern Algeria, residents watched plumes rise above their neighborhoods as dozens of fires tore through forests and farmland during one of the region's worst heatwaves in years. By Wednesday night, at least 12 people were dead — five in Jijel, four in Bejaia, three in Tizi Ouzou — and the crisis was still unfolding.
Fifty-four people had been hospitalized with burn injuries, six of them in critical condition. Firefighters were battling 69 active blazes while civil protection teams coordinated evacuations across multiple provinces. In one Jijel post office, residents had crowded inside as smoke billowed past the windows. Entire neighborhoods in Bejaia and Jijel had been emptied. The Interior Minister traveled to Bejaia alongside the Health Minister to assess the response firsthand.
The heat was not incidental to the fires — it was their engine. The World Meteorological Organization has documented that North Africa warms faster than any other African subregion, at 0.43 degrees Celsius per decade since 1991. Bejaia had lived through this pattern before: three years ago, fires killed 30 people in the same region. In July of this year alone, Algeria recorded more than 2,000 blazes and at least six deaths.
The fires will eventually be contained. They always are. But the deeper question — what the next summer will bring, and the one after that — hangs over a region where a seasonal hazard has become something closer to a permanent condition.
The smoke arrived before the flames. In the coastal provinces of northern Algeria, residents watched thick plumes rise above their neighborhoods as dozens of fires tore through forests and farmland during the worst heatwave the region has experienced in years. By Wednesday night, at least 12 people were dead, and the toll kept climbing.
The Interior Minister, Said Sayoud, released the breakdown of the dead: five in Jijel province, four in Bejaia, and three in Tizi Ouzou. But the immediate crisis extended far beyond those numbers. At least 54 people had suffered burn injuries severe enough to require hospital treatment. Six of them were critical enough to need intensive care. Firefighters were fighting 69 separate blazes across the country, and the civil protection agency was coordinating evacuations from homes in multiple provinces as the fires advanced.
Footage from local news showed the scale of the displacement. In one post office in Jijel, residents had crowded inside seeking shelter as smoke billowed past the windows outside. Entire neighborhoods in Bejaia and Jijel had been emptied. The Interior Minister himself traveled to Bejaia with the Health Minister, Mohamed Seddik Ait Messaoudene, to assess how local authorities were managing both the firefighting operations and the movement of people to safety.
What made this crisis particularly acute was the context in which it was unfolding. Northern Africa had been gripped by an exceptional heatwave all summer, with Tunisia and Algeria bearing the worst of it. The heat was not incidental to the fires—it was their fuel. The World Meteorological Organization noted that North Africa has warmed faster than any other subregion of the continent, heating at a rate of 0.43 degrees Celsius per decade between 1991 and 2025. That accelerating temperature is not a background fact; it is reshaping what fire seasons look like in the region.
Bejaia had lived through this before. Three years earlier, fires had swept through the same region and killed 30 people. The province knew the pattern: summer heat, dry vegetation, flames that moved faster than evacuation could manage. Yet the fires kept returning, and they kept getting worse. In July alone, authorities had recorded at least six deaths from fires and battled more than 2,000 blazes across Algeria. What had once been a seasonal hazard was becoming a recurring catastrophe.
The heat was affecting more than people. A recent study documented a grim secondary effect: rising temperatures and water shortages during summer heatwaves were driving a sharp increase in camel deaths across Algeria. The animals, central to life in parts of the country, were succumbing to conditions that the climate was making more extreme each year.
Algeria has always experienced forest fires during the summer months. But climate change has fundamentally altered the equation. The fires are more intense. They spread faster. They kill more people. And they are arriving in a region already stretched thin by heat and water stress. As firefighters continued their work through Wednesday night, the question was not whether the fires would eventually be contained—they would be—but what the next summer would bring, and the one after that.
Notable Quotes
Extreme heat has become common in North Africa, a region that has seen the most rapid warming of the six subregions of Africa— World Meteorological Organization
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