In France, law enforcement officials recorded 420 arrests in cases involving the deliberate or accidental setting of forest fires that caused widespread destruction across the country, writes BBC.

"After wildfires caused more damage in France this year than at any time since World War Two, many are left asking a single question: why?

A major driver is that climate is changing as a result of the well-documented way humanity is burning fossil fuels.

Temperatures are only rising.

But with records showing that nine out of 10 French wildfires are started by humans, the government in Paris is trying to attribute blame - although it is itself accused of being underprepared for the infernos that have now scorched more than 300,000 acres this summer.

The interior ministry has announced 420 arrests of people alleged to have either started the fires deliberately or by accident. Among them are 166 minors. In one case, a 23-year-old man has been accused of deliberately starting 10 fires in the space of five days in the south-eastern Var area last month. He faces 15 years in prison and a EUR150 000 fine, if convicted", - reads the article.