Wildfires sweeping across Europe this summer have unearthed a dangerous legacy of past conflicts: unexploded bombs and mines from World War I and II. The intense heat of the blazes has caused some of these dormant munitions to detonate, creating a new layer of risk for those battling the flames and for communities in affected areas.
Explosions have been reported in several countries, including France, Belgium, and Germany. In Belgium's Limburg province, a bomb disposal team was deployed to a forest threatened by fire near a site that saw heavy fighting in 1944. In a forest in southwestern France, a large wildfire uncovered a cache of suspected World War II-era ammunition. The eastern Belgian province of Liege has experienced sporadic detonations, prompting emergency services to adapt their operations to account for buried munitions.
Experts suggest that climate change is a significant factor in this escalating threat. Sarah Njeri, a peace and conflict scholar, noted that the continent's "climatic luck" is diminishing, with rising temperatures and altered rainfall patterns now unearthing and potentially reactivating previously stable buried weapons. This year's wildfire season was intensified by heavy rains in January that promoted vegetation growth, which then became tinder under the summer heat. Combined with drought conditions, low humidity, and strong winds, these factors created an ideal environment for fires, according to a recent study by the World Weather Attribution group.
The fires are burning over territories known to be contaminated with unexploded ordnance, a persistent reminder of World War I and II battlefields. In the High Fens, a peat-bog forest spanning the border between Belgium and Germany, the current fire smolders above a site of intense fighting during the Battle of the Bulge. It is also nearing sites of other significant battles, including those along Elsenborn Ridge and in the Hurtgen Forest, where tens of thousands of soldiers died.
Local historian Bernard Collard, who runs the Truschbaum Museum, stated that navigating these areas can be perilous, as the location of explosives is often unknown. He recounted instances of discovered bombs being detonated and noted that his own metal detector scans of former battlefields, now forests and farmland, have yielded mortar shells, helmets, and even human remains. Collard frequently collaborates with the Belgian demining squad, emphasizing that this dangerous legacy is an ongoing part of the region's history.
Jonas Tepe, a spokesperson for North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, highlighted that unexploded ordnance becomes even more hazardous during wildfires, as heat can trigger the explosives. The Belgian Ministry of Defense receives requests for assistance in disarming explosives from the region weekly, though it does not classify it as a particular "hot spot" compared to other areas.
In western Belgium, farmers in towns like Ypres, known for World War I trench warfare, refer to the annual tilling of their soil as "the iron harvest" due to the frequency with which they unearth war remnants. Annually, Belgium's Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Destruction Service responds to over 3,000 calls and disposes of 200 to 250 tons of munitions from both world wars.
Beyond wildfires, drought conditions have also contributed to the exposure of buried weapons. In Slovakia, the receding Danube River revealed two naval mines that were subsequently secured and buried for demolition. Hungarian authorities closed Budapest's Margaret Bridge after a World War II bomb surfaced at its base due to low water levels. Similarly, German authorities found a World War II-era bomb in the dried-up Rhine River.
Christina Greene, a researcher at the University of Arizona, stated that climate change is causing "the legacy of war to keep creeping up," forcing a confrontation with the past that many regions have not had to face for a considerable time. The ongoing convergence of extreme weather events and the lingering remnants of past conflicts underscores a persistent, multifaceted danger across Europe.