Firefighters battle to control blazes in southwestern Türkiye

Firefighters and other personnel have been battling to contain a fire that erupted in a forest in southwestern Türkiye.

The cause of Wednesday's fire in the Ula district of Mugla province is still unknown. 

A total of 31 water sprinklers, 19 water tenders, 23 ground crews, five bulldozers and nearly 100 forest workers as well as a fire crew are battling the flames.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mugla Governor Orhan Tavli said that efforts are continuing to control the blaze, which spread with the wind.

"At the first light of the day, air vehicles also will start to intervene. There is no evacuation in the region at the moment. Hopefully, the teams would bring the fire under control when the weather gets brighter."

Türkiye in mid-July battled another wildfire in the country's southwestern town of Datca. 

But with the efforts of personnel and residents, the fire was put down shortly. 

READ MORE: Firefighters battle to contain wildfire in southern Türkiye

'These disasters are not natural'

As the climate crisis is continuously hitting the planet, wildfires have engulfed the world. 

The impacts of the climate crisis are "heading into uncharted territories of destruction", UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday.

Already, extreme weather events are more frequent and more intense.

"Heatwaves in Europe. Colossal floods in Pakistan...There is nothing natural about the new scale of these disasters," Guterres said in a video message.

Despite a dip in emissions during coronavirus lockdowns, planet-warming emissions have since soared beyond pre-pandemic levels.

Preliminary data reveal that global carbon dioxide emissions in the first half of this year were 1.2 percent higher than during the same period in 2019, the report finds.

The past seven years were the warmest on record.

The global average temperature has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. And scientists expect the annual average could be anywhere between 1.1C and 1.7C warmer up to 2026 –– meaning there's a chance we could pass the 1.5C warming threshold in the next five years.

READ MORE: Wildfire in Türkiye’s Marmaris brought under control: minister