French Minister 'Shouts' as Country Experiences Extreme Heat and Worst Forest and Land Fires in Half a Century

JAKARTA - France is beginning to take stock of the heat waves and forest and land fires (karhutla) that have hit the country this year.

French Minister for the Environment and Ecological Transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, is becoming increasingly concerned about the weather affecting her country. She warned that the events in France are the result of climate change, pushing summer temperatures near record highs.

"We all know that the summer we are experiencing is in many ways a turning point," said Agnes Pannier-Runacher at a press conference on Tuesday, September 2, as quoted by AFP.

Much of Europe has experienced extreme heat waves, severe droughts, and widespread forest and land fires in recent months. Meanwhile, several countries in other parts of the world have recorded increasingly severe temperature spikes this year.

"Unfortunately, this is a sign of things to come, as heat waves will become more frequent and intense in the coming years," she said.

The summer of 2025 was the third hottest in France since the country's meteorological agency, Meteo France, began measuring temperatures in 1900. It ranked second in terms of the number of heatwave days.

France experienced severe forest fires this year, one of which in the Mediterranean region was considered the worst in at least half a century, according to French government data on the area burned.