Hundreds evacuated by sea as wildfire sweeps Puglia coast

A major wildfire forced hundreds of residents and holidaymakers to flee Puglia's southern Adriatic coast by boat on Sunday, according to reports from the Italian coastguard. The evacuation signals the spreading intensity of Mediterranean wildfires as temperatures remain elevated across southern Europe. The Local Italy reported that many more people were expected to be rescued as the fire continued to advance.

The Puglia evacuation reflects a broader pattern of wildfire danger gripping southern Italy and the wider Mediterranean. The Guardian's editorial on European wildfires noted that firefighters are now using new terminology to describe the scale and speed of fires sweeping across the region, a sign of how climate conditions are reshaping the threat landscape. The pace of global heating has created conditions that outstrip the preparedness and resources of emergency services across the south.

For Campania, the Puglia evacuation carries an immediate warning. The region shares the Mediterranean's intensifying summer fire season and the same combination of heat, dry vegetation and coastal tourism density that made Puglia's evacuation necessary. Campania's own coastline, from the Amalfi peninsula to the Bay of Naples, draws hundreds of thousands of summer visitors to towns built into cliffsides and pine forests. The evacuation by sea in Puglia—a resort to emergency maritime rescue—underscores how quickly fire can cut off land routes and trap people in coastal settlements.