European wildfires reveal a hidden danger: buried bombs and mines from WWI and WWII

Wildfires across Europe this summer have revealed a hidden danger beneath the scorched landscape: unexploded bombs and mines from World War I and II. These rusty weapons pose a grave threat to crews battling the flames, as some have already exploded in intense heat.

In France, a massive wildfire near Bordeaux uncovered what is believed to be World War II-era ammunition. In Belgium's Limburg province, a bomb-disposal team responded to a forest threatened by flames where a bomb had recently detonated.

The fires, fueled by climate change, are unearthing and reactivating the buried explosives that were previously stable. Sarah Njeri, a peace and conflict scholar, explained that rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall no longer keep these weapons dormant.

Climate change has intensified the fire conditions, making them more likely to ignite and burn away the vegetation that hides the weapons. The World Weather Attribution study attributes this wildfire season to heavy rains in January that promoted vegetation growth, which turned into kindling under the summer heat.

Throughout Europe, fires have chewed through old battlefields, setting off buried explosives. In the High Fens of Belgium, a forest known for its World War II-era munitions, a wildfire exposed a cache of what is believed to be German ammunition.

Local historian Bernard Collard remembers the risks of such encounters, sharing his father's experience of detonating a found bomb in a quarry. In the High Fens, the fire smolders atop a battlefield where the Battle of the Bulge was fought, alongside lesser-known skirmishes that left a tragic death toll.

Belgium receives weekly requests for assistance with disarming explosives, though the area is not considered a "hot spot." Collard emphasizes that unexploded ordnance remains a part of their history, urging caution and respect when working with these dangerous remnants.