Old bombs pose hidden threat in Europe's wildfire zones

As devastating forest fires sweep across Europe, a hidden and deadly threat is being unearthed: unexploded ordnance from both World War I and World War II. Residents and the firefighters battling the blazes are increasingly at risk from these rusty bombs and grenades, with sporadic detonations being heard in affected regions.

In Belgium's fire-ravaged areas, emergency services have had to adapt to the constant danger. Near Bordeaux, France, a massive wildfire exposed an old ammunition depot believed to contain World War II-era explosives. Similarly, a bomb disposal team was deployed in the Netherlands to a threatened forest in Limburg province, an area that saw heavy fighting in 1944.

“

Climate change is now actively uncovering and reactivating what was previously stable.

The emergence of tons of old weaponry, sometimes detonating, is already a grim reality in parts of Europe. Farmers in western Belgium, for instance, refer to the annual plowing of fields over World War I trenches as the "iron harvest." However, much of the lethal legacy of these wars has remained buried, preserved by stable temperatures and predictable rainfall.

But Europe's "climate luck" appears to be running out. According to peace and conflict researcher Sarah Njeri in London, climate change is now actively uncovering and reactivating these previously stable remnants. Fires can ignite old ammunition, but they also clear away undergrowth that conceals them. Drought conditions further compound the risk; in Budapest, authorities recently closed the Margaret Bridge over the Danube after a World War II bomb surfaced in the receding waters. Low water levels in the Danube in Slovakia have also revealed two naval mines, and at least one World War II bomb has been found in the dried-up Rhine River.

“

Fires can ignite old ammunition, but can also burn away undergrowth that conceals them.