Unexploded munitions hamper fight against wildfire in north Germany

Old munitions buried in the soil from an abandoned military training ground have forced firefighters to stay at least 1,000 metres from the flames, said officials from the Mecklenburg Seenplatte district.

"Emergency services cannot actively put out the fire -- that's the problem," district spokesman Marten Schroeder told reporters of the fire in Müritz National Park.

"This safety distance of 1,000 metres also means that you couldn't drop water from a helicopter, for example, because it would have to fly so high up that the wind would blow the water off course," he added.

Officials warned that the wildfire there was growing after a village had to be evacuated for a second time.

The fire has now stretched over about 150 hectares (1.5 square kilometres) of the park, officials in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania said, adding that the flames were spreading.

About 200 people had been deployed to the fight the blaze, they added, while the village of Granzin with its approximately 400 inhabitants had been evacuated.

Originally evacuated on Monday, villagers had returned after an all-clear was given, but that was revoked on Tuesday.

The fire comes just weeks after Germany recorded its highest-ever temperature in a heatwave which also saw records tumble in other European countries.

Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-induced climate change.

Some of Germany's rivers are also showing signs of strain.

Water levels at Kaub in Germany's Rhine valley are currently at just 155 cm, according to readings early Wednesday. That is a record low for the time of year and below the 160-170 cm fully-loaded ships need to navigate the waterway safely.

Ships are now sailing with heavily reduced loads, raising freight rates on a river that carries about 80 percent of Germany's inland water transport, mostly carrying goods from Dutch and Belgian ports.

The city Munich on Tuesday declared a hosepipe ban and said cleaning cars would only be allowed at carwashes, citing water scarcity after what the mayor Dominik Krause said was an "unusually dry winter and spring".