In recent weeks, wildfires have ravaged Europe amid record-breaking heat and drought. These fires posed an immediate threat to life, forcing the evacuation of over 300,000 people across France, Spain and Portugal. Rivers across Europe have also hit record low water levels.

These developments have highlighted a deadly legacy of past conflict: unexploded bombs and other munitions.

Fires in southern France exposed a previously unidentified cache of 400 French and German shells from the second world war. The ammunition detonated in the heat of the fire, forcing authorities to clear the area before residents could return.

Dropping water levels have also revealed unexploded munitions in the Netherlands, Hungary, and Slovakia.

But fires and drought in Europe are only the latest reminder of an enduring problem that affects millions worldwide.

Explosive remnants of war

Since the first world war, numerous conflicts have ravaged the world, scarring the landscape and littering battlefields with unexploded, abandoned, or otherwise discarded munitions.

Known as explosive remnants of war (ERW), unexploded munitions posed a continuing threat to an estimated 100 million people across 60 countries in 2025.

ERW includes two categories of ordnance. The first is unexploded ordnance (UXO), which are explosive weapons that failed to detonate when they were first deployed. The second is abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO),........

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