There Are Wildfires Burning in the Arctic Circle Amid Sweden’s Record-Breaking Heat Wave

As a record-breaking heat wave scorches Sweden, dozens of wildfires are raging in parts of the country.

According to local media, at least 40 fires were burning in parts of Sweden on Wednesday, which have prompted evacuations from three Swedish counties. The Guardian says that 11 of the fires are inside the Arctic Circle.

Italy has sent two planes and Norway eight helicopters to assist in firefighting efforts, but Sweden’s Civil Contingencies Agency has appealed to the E.U. for more aerial assistance, saying the fires were the worst in modern times.

“This is definitely the worst year in recent times for forest fires,” Mike Peacock, a university researcher and local resident told The Guardian.

The fires are happening alongside a heatwave that has been plaguing Northern Europe all summer, causing record-breaking highs across Scandinavia.

One village just north of Sweden’s Arctic Circle, Kvikkjokk, hit just above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Downtown Helsinki, Finland’s capital, hit 86 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in eight years, the Weather Channel reports.

Bardufoss, a town in northern Norway, hit an all-time record when temperatures soared to 92.3 degrees on Wednesday.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, continental Europe has had its warmest May and second-warmest June since 1910.