A forest in flames near the village of Akroum in Akkar, on July 31, 2026. Photo shared by our correspondent Michel Hallak.
The summer heat wave that has gripped Lebanon since the start of the week, mainly affecting the highlands and the Bekaa plain, is significantly increasing the risk of wildfires spreading in wooded areas, according to Meteo Lebanon and the Civil Defense, both contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour.
Several countries in the Mediterranean basin and Europe, including France, Spain, Turkey, Italy and Greece, have been hit by wildfires in recent weeks. Two firefighters died Thursday on the island of Crete while trying to contain a fire threatening seaside resorts and villages.
’’In Lebanon, the risk of a fire starting spontaneously due to heat remains low. However, the likelihood of a human-caused fire turning into a major blaze increases considerably under the current weather conditions, with temperatures several degrees above already high seasonal norms, especially in the Bekaa,’’ said Jocelyne Abou Farès, head of the division at Meteo Lebanon.
A spokesperson for the Civil Defense communications office confirmed the assessment, noting that the heat, which dries out vegetation, combined with winds sweeping through some regions, has created particularly favorable conditions for wildfires to spread. Firefighters, for example, responded to more than 140 fire outbreaks on Tuesday alone.
‘’These were fires in wooded areas, mainly of human origin, which we were able to contain before they spread,’’ the office said, adding that Civil Defense is fully mobilized to prevent uncontrollable wildfires.
40 degrees in the Bekaa
The spokesperson added that the wildfire alert covers a wide area, including Akkar, Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon and the western Bekaa.
According to statistics provided by the spokesperson, 2,097 wildfires and fires outside buildings have been recorded so far in 2026, compared with 3,412 in 2025, a year marked by particularly low rainfall. ‘’Most of these incidents occur between June and November,’’ he said.
In 2024, the number reached 6,412, an exceptionally high level. In 2023, 4,276 fire outbreaks were recorded. The statistics include fires reported in South Lebanon, including areas occupied by Israel where Civil Defense was unable to intervene, the spokesperson said.
The vast majority of these fires are caused by human activity, whether intentional acts, generally committed by individuals seeking to illegally clear land to obtain building permits, or negligence, he added.
According to L’Orient-Le Jour correspondent in North Lebanon, army helicopters and Civil Defense teams managed to halt the spread of a fire that broke out overnight Thursday into Friday in the forests of Jabal el-Hosn, in the heights of Akroum, near the Lebanese-Syrian border. The steep mountainous terrain made the area inaccessible to fire trucks.
The current heat wave, driven mainly by hot air masses from the Persian Gulf and Egypt, began Monday after an unusual and brief period of rainfall in parts of the country.
’’It was less strongly felt between Monday and Wednesday on the coast than in the highlands and the Bekaa, but the situation has since evened out,’’ Abou Farès said.
On the coast, temperatures range between 32 C and 34 C from Beirut to Tripoli, remaining relatively close to seasonal averages. However, temperatures in the Bekaa have approached or exceeded 40 C and could do so again by Sunday.
The air is drier in the highlands, while southeast to east winds pushing hot air masses from Egypt are also sweeping over the sea and increasing humidity along the coast and the first foothills, the same source said.
The heat wave is expected to ease at the start of next week, Abou Farès said, while warning of the risk of sunstroke.
