Europe has a record number of areas devastated by summer fires – As of August 13, around 660,000 hectares of European land have been destroyed by fires, according to preliminary data. This is the worst figure since satellite data began to be collected in 2006. Europe is on track for record destruction from forest fires in 2022, according to provisional data from the European Union.
The warning comes as the continent experiences a severe heatwave and drought this summer, which scientists say is the result of climate change caused by human activity.
Approximately 660,000 hectares of land burned in the fires between January 1 and August 13. EFFIS (The European Forest Fire Information System) is a record for this time of year since satellite data began to be collected in 2006.
The figure is 56% higher than the previous record set in the same period of 2017, when 420,913 hectares were burned.
The region most affected by the fires was the Iberian Peninsula. Spain suffered two major heat waves this summer between June and August, burning 246,278 hectares, mainly in Galicia, the Castile province of Zamora (northwest) and Extremadura.
In Portugal, it took a week for firefighters to control the fire that broke out in the Serra da Estrela natural park, where 17,000 hectares burned.
France, on the other hand, saw even worse years in the 1970s, before standardized data were established at the European level. But according to these figures, 2022 was the worst year in 16 years, largely due to two consecutive major fires in the Gironde region near Bordeaux (southwest).
In Central Europe the situation was equally exceptional. In July, it took more than ten days for firefighters to control the largest fire in Slovenia’s recent history.
Having no aircraft specializing in firefighting, Slovenia had to seek help from Croatia, which sent a plane before bringing it back to put out their own fires.
In terms of areas destroyed, Romania (150,528 hectares), Portugal (75,277 hectares) and France (61,289 hectares) follow Spain.
Until now, these extreme drought conditions have been observed mainly in the Mediterranean, but are now also recorded in Central Europe.
In the Czech Republic, for example, a fire devastated more than 1000 hectares. In addition to the fires in Croatia, there were three fires in Slovenia and five in Austria.
“The drought situation and extreme high temperatures have affected all of Europe this year and the overall situation in the region is worrying as we are still in the middle of the fire season,” said EFFIS coordinator Jesus San-Miguel.
source: Noticias
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