Algeria declares 3 days of national mourning as wildfire death toll rises to 12

Algeria declares three days of national mourning as death toll from the latest wildfires rises to 12.

Firefighters in Algeria continue to battle the flames ravaging the mountainside in northeastern Jijel.

The death toll from these recent wildfires has risen to 12 with dozens more injured.

On Thursday, President Abdelmajid Tebboune declared three days of national mourning in memory of the victims.

Out of more than 190 fires recorded over the previous 24 hours, 46 were still burning, the country’s civil protection said on Thursday.

Forest fires in northern Algeria are a normal occurrence during the summer. But climate change is amplifying their impact through increasingly frequent droughts and intense heat.

More than 30 people were killed in July 2023 when fires tore through thousands of hectares of forests and farmland, as well as hundreds of homes, in the area around Bejaia.

Nearly 2,000 fires were recorded nationwide in July of this year.