Weather & Science

Wildfires Briefly Shut Dardanelles as Heat Blasts Europe

Firefighters tackle a wildfire in Canakkale, near the Dardanelles Strait, in Turkey, on Aug. 11.Photographer: Murat Sengul/Anadolu/Getty Images

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By Selcan Hacaoglu, Joe Wertz, and Paul Tugwell

August 12, 2025 at 3:21 AM EDT

Updated on

August 12, 2025 at 10:41 AM EDT

Wildfires briefly shut the Dardanelles Strait to shipping on Monday, as extreme heat and strong winds fueled blazes across the Mediterranean.

The Dardanelles — a vital maritime chokepoint for oil and gas from the Black Sea and Central Asia — was reopened in the evening after being closed to allow firefighting aircraft to scoop up water from the sea to tackle nearby blazes.