Extreme heat observed in several regions of Europe due to global climate change has led to an increase in both the frequency and scale of forest fires.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, statistical data released by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) indicates a sharp rise in the number of fires recorded in July.
As of July 29, data shows that 434,976 hectares of land have been destroyed by forest fires across European Union countries. This area is equivalent to approximately 4,350 square kilometers. To put this into perspective, the area affected by the fires is 1.7 times larger than the territory of Luxembourg and nearly 14 times larger than the territory of Malta.
Reports indicate that the volume of areas affected by fires has increased by 25 percent compared to the same period last year. Experts note that the losses for the current year exceed the 2006-2025 average by approximately 2.5 times.
According to statistics, 1,407 forest fires have occurred in EU countries from the beginning of the year until July 29, which is twice the long-term average.
Spain has been the most affected country, with 208,420 hectares of forest land burned, accounting for nearly half of the total losses. A total of 376 fire incidents were recorded in the country.
Indicators for other countries are as follows:
- France – 91,024 hectares (322 fires);
- Italy – 69,414 hectares;
- Portugal – 39,801 hectares;
- Romania – 11,957 hectares;
- Greece – 5,696 hectares.
It should be noted that last year, a total of 1,079,000 hectares of land were destroyed by forest fires in European Union countries. This figure is considered the highest annual result in the history of observations conducted by EFFIS since 2006.
The increasing frequency of such wildfires highlights the growing urgency of climate mitigation strategies across the continent, as rising global temperatures continue to create conditions conducive to rapid fire spread.
