On Saturday, shortly after 4 p.m., I notice smoke, as if something were burning somewhere. It's coming from outside, carried in by the wind through the open windows. I had thrown them all open because a breeze had finally picked up, hoping it would ease the heat in the rooms. Instead, it brings the smoke in.

My first thought is that someone is grilling or lighting a fire, which makes me angry. Who lights a fire in this heat and drought? Since I credit people with anything, I'm not even surprised — and yet I'm full of contempt for such ignorant idiots. There are simply too many of them.

I leave the windows open, hoping the smoke would soon pass and fresh wind would blow it back out of the rooms. I'm wrong: looking out the window, I see the view over the fields growing hazy. Before long, the forest behind it is no longer visible. By then, though, I've already closed the windows.

I missed the warning message from the civil protection authority at first; I only see it when I happen to glance at my phone. It must have come in while I wasn't in the room. Now it's official: the smoke is coming from a fire — a wildfire, to be precise. I had suspected it, but told myself it wouldn't be that bad. I simply didn't want to believe it.

I read the message carefully: "Information from the civil protection authority: There is currently massive smoke spreading throughout the entire district, which may also result in ash rainfall. This smoke mostly originates from a large vegetation fire in Belgium."

A quick search online brings clarity. In the Belgian nature reserve Hohes Venn (High Fens), near the German border, a large-scale vegetation fire is raging. By early Saturday morning, at least 1,600 hectares of vegetation had been destroyed by the flames. That's only 50 kilometers from us as the crow flies.

Europe is burning. Fires are breaking out in every country. The weatherman Jörg Kachelmann once said that 95 percent of wildfires are caused by humans — either deliberately or out of stupidity. The remaining 5 percent are caused by lightning. But the majority: caused by humans. I have less and less respect for my species. I often think the world deserves better.