In the 2023an area approximately double the size of Luxembourg has been burned in the EU, amounting to over half a million (504,002) hectares, according to the Advance report on Forest Fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa 2023.
So far in 2024there have already been almost double the average number of fires for this time of year, but without a significant impact in terms of areas burned.
The report is based on data provided by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) managed by the JRC, mapping forest fires in Europe and adjacent regions since 2000.
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Analysis for different vegetation types in 2023 shows that i37% of the burned area was covered by bushes and sclerophyllous vegetation, while 26% (120,000 ha) was forest.
The fires caused serious damage to the environmentproducing approximately 20 megatonnes (Mt) of CO2 emissions – as estimated by EFFIS – equivalent to around a third of all international aviation emissions in the EU in a year.
In 2023 there were more fires in February and March, with over 100,000 hectares burned in the EU. Some larger fires occurred in Spain as early as March and May. L’Forest fire activity increased in the summer monthswhen fire danger conditions became criticism in the Mediterranean region.
Before the end of the yearthe extent of the burned area mapped by EFFIS reached 504,002 hectaresfollowing 2017 (988,427 ha), 2022 (837,212 ha) and 2007 (588,388 ha), the three worst years of this century.
Conditions of high fire danger – dry soil, low humidity and strong winds – facilitate the ignition of fires and their spreadleading to potentially critical wildfire events, sometimes referred to as megafires.
The burn intensity of these firesi hinders the efficiency of traditional aerial firefighting techniques, who cannot control them until the fire danger conditions improve and allow the intervention of firefighting teams on the ground.
Indeed, in 2023, the largest single fire occurred in Europe since the 1980s. It started on August 19 near Alexandroupoli (Greece) and caused the burning of over 96,000 hectares and numerous human victims. The occurrence of these types of severe wildfire events is linked to very high and extreme fire danger conditions under climate change.
Globally2023 was marked by unprecedented forest fires in many regions of the worldparticularly in Canada where the estimated area burned has exceeded 18 million hectares (about double the size of Portugal).
In 2024, Droughts and high temperatures are again recorded which can favor the ignition of forest fires and their spread in many areas of the world.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that February 2024 was the warmest on record and the ninth warmest consecutive month. In Europe, forest fires have been recorded in many areas, especially in the mountain ranges of the northern areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
By mid-March, a high number of fires – 1227 – above the average of 645 for this time of year in the EUwere mapped by EFFIS, although these did not have a significant impact in terms of areas burned.
