Elsenborn, Belgium – Wildfires burning across parts of Europe this summer have exposed and in some cases detonated rusty bombs and mines left from World War I and World War II. The intense heat has turned former battlefields into active hazards for firefighters and residents alike. ## Explosions Reported Across Borders
Blasts have occurred in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands as flames moved over ground long known to contain unexploded ordnance. In one Belgian forest near the German border, officials recorded several sporadic detonations and adjusted emergency responses accordingly. A bomb disposal team was also sent to a threatened woodland in the Netherlands near the site of heavy fighting in 1944. In southwestern France near Bordeaux, a large wildfire uncovered what appears to be a cache of World War II ammunition. Local authorities in Belgium’s Liege province noted that no firefighters were placed in immediate danger, though images circulated of responders handling rusted devices found amid the scorched terrain. ## Climate Change Unburies Old Munitions
Rising temperatures and prolonged drought have accelerated the problem by burning away protective vegetation and drying out soil that once kept the weapons stable. Sarah Njeri, a peace and conflict scholar, noted that Europe’s previous climatic conditions had largely kept buried explosives dormant until now. Fires not only ignite the munitions directly but also strip away the brush that conceals them. A study by the World Weather Attribution group linked this season’s conditions to heavy winter rains that promoted vegetation growth, followed by extreme summer heat, low humidity and strong winds. Christina Greene, a researcher at the University of Arizona, described the situation as the legacy of war “creeping up” once more because of climate-driven changes. ## Belgium Handles Thousands of Calls Yearly
The High Fens region in eastern Belgium, site of intense combat during the Battle of the Bulge and nearby actions in the Hurtgen Forest, has seen renewed activity. Historian Bernard Collard, who operates a museum of wartime artifacts in the area, said the fires sit atop ground where booby traps, bombs and mines were once scattered. In the years immediately after 1945, such remnants killed six civilians in the province. Belgium’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal service fields more than 3,000 calls annually and disposes of 200 to 250 tons of munitions from both world wars. Requests for assistance arrive regularly from the High Fens, though the area is not considered the nation’s busiest zone compared with western regions such as Ypres, where farmers routinely turn up shells during plowing. ## Drought Exposes Weapons in Rivers Too
Lower water levels have added another dimension. In Slovakia, receding waters of the Danube revealed two naval mines that were later detonated in a controlled blast. Hungarian authorities closed a bridge in Budapest after a World War II bomb appeared at its base. Similar finds emerged along Germany’s Rhine River. “It’s reliving the legacies of war and conflict in a way that we haven’t had to deal with in a while in certain places,” Njeri said. The combination of fire and drought is forcing communities to confront remnants that had remained largely undisturbed for decades.
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