According to the Forest Fires 2023 report, almost 500 thousand hectares of natural land, approximately half the size of the island of Cyprus, suffered forest fires during the past year, the Down to Earth portal reported.
The avalanche of forest fires is a clear impact of global warming, said the research, which also alludes to the fact that “megafires” also occurred, impossible to control with conventional extinction methods.
One of the fires, near the town of Alexandroupolis in the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, was the largest wildfire recorded in the EU since 2000.
These fires have become more intense and affecting new and wider areas due to climate change and the wildfire season in Europe now extends beyond the traditional summer months, it revealed. According to the data, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway and Switzerland reported more wildfires than the 2013-22 average.
Meanwhile, Cyprus, Norway and Switzerland reported the highest levels with 126 percent, 278 percent and 146 percent of burnt areas above average.
In 2023, around 41 percent of the total impacted area in the EU affected the Natura 2000 network, the EU’s biodiversity reserve crucial for its conservation, and said these essential ecosystems will take years to recover.
Cyprus experienced aggressive fire activity followed by a prolonged period of heatwave conditions that continued for almost three weeks in mid-July.
Temperatures soared to between 44 and 46 degrees in some areas, worsening conditions and the island experienced dry, above-normal temperatures and dry, warm weather conditions from January 2023, almost all year round.
In an EU press release, Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of forest fires, which in 2023 again demonstrated that we are not prepared to face these risks and that more investment is urgently needed to better prepare to prevent them.
Aside from Europe, Canada suffered unprecedented forest fires in 2023, decimating more than 15 million hectares.
Latin America (e.g. the Amazon or Central America) is also facing severe fires in 2024.
Last September, the report said that the wildfire season was less severe compared to the last three years; however, countries such as Greece and Portugal continued to face devastating fires.
Likewise, around 96 percent of EU wildfires are caused by human actions, making education and awareness necessary.
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