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SICILY

Schools closed after high temperatures fuel wildfires in Sicily

Schools were closed near Palermo and most of Sicily remained on red alert on Friday for wildfires fuelled by strong winds and unusually high temperatures.

Published: 22 September 2023 14:16 CEST
Schools closed after high temperatures fuel wildfires in Sicily
Wildfires were spreading in parts of Sicily on Thursday and into Friday, with one reaching the perimeter of Palermo's city centre. (Photo by Federico SCOPPA / AFP)

Schools were closed on Friday near Palermo as wildfires swept the area and encroached into the capital itself, forcing residents in the Brancaccio neighborhood to leave their homes – not for the first time this year, after a blaze threatened the same area in July.

Schools in Gratteri, in the Madonie mountains, were closed due to nearby wildfires on the orders of local mayor Giuseppe Muffoletto, who urged local residents to take precautionary measures to prevent the flames from spreading through the town.

Canadair planed intervened to stop fires reaching homes in the Palermo area, while another blaze stretched from Gratteri to Cefalù, reported news agency Ansa.

Sicilian authorities had issued red alerts for wildfires on Thursday and Friday in the provinces of Palermo, Trapani and Messina.

The head of the regional civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina, said the areas were on alert due to high temperatures and strong sirocco winds.

Temperatures in many parts of Sicily were around 34 degrees on Friday, well above the seasonal average.

Temperatures exceeded 32 degrees in other parts of southern Italy on Friday, while the north saw rain and temperatures in the low 20s.

Member comments

  1. High temperatures don’t cause fires. A sauna does not catch fire at 80 or even 90 degrees C. Fires start easily after droughts and are caused by intentional (arson) or unintentional (cigarette buds) human actions or natural causes like lightning.

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VOLCANO

IN PICTURES: Sicily’s Mount Etna puffs ‘smoke rings’ in rare show

Near-perfect circles of gas emerged from Mount Etna in a rare display captured on camera by residents and tourists over the weekend.

Published: 8 April 2024 09:46 CEST
IN PICTURES: Sicily's Mount Etna puffs 'smoke rings' in rare show

A new crater opened on the summit of Europe’s largest active volcano leading to an unusual display of ‘smoke rings’, with thousands recorded in recent days, reported La Repubblica.

Boris Behncke, researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Catania, said they were called “volcanic vortex rings”, rings of volcanic gas emitted by Etna “more than any other volcano on earth”.

The rare phenomenon occurs only in very specific conditions generated by a constant release of gas and vapours.

The volcano has emitted thousands of spectacular rings since last Tuesday, which has led local media to dub it Lady of the Rings (or Signora degli Anelli in Italian). 

Experts have said the rings are harmless and aren’t necessarily a prelude to an imminent eruption.

A volcanic tremor and “about six summit explosive events” were recorded below the volcano’s southern crater on Sunday afternoon, INGV said.

Other major emissions of rings occurred in February 2000 and July 2023.

At 3,324 metres (nearly 11,000 feet), Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe and eruptions have been frequent over the past 500,000 years.

Last May, the volcano released large amounts of volcanic ash and smoke in the air, forcing local airport authorities to halt all flights to and from the nearby airport of Catania, a popular tourist destination in eastern Sicily.

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