The forest fires in Europe have already destroyed more area this year than in all of 2021. According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), 517,881 hectares have been burned in the EU since the beginning of the year, or just over 5000 square kilometers. The scorched area is about twice the size of Vorarlberg.
“The situation is even worse than expected, even though we expected temperature anomalies thanks to the long-term forecasts,” said Effis coordinator Jesús San Miguel.
The heat wave of recent weeks is a determining factor and has “obviously” to do with global warming.
If the trend continues, this year could match or even surpass 2017 – the worst year in the EU on Effis records. At that time, nearly 990,000 hectares of vegetation (almost 10,000 square kilometers) went up in smoke, about an area the size of Lebanon.
Video: Forest fires keep Europe in suspense
Situation in France and Portugal easing
At the time, especially in France and Spain, severe fires raged on thousands of hectares. The situation there has recently calmed down (see video above). On the French Atlantic coast, more than 20,600 hectares of land were destroyed in just one week. Wednesday morning there were 25 larger and smaller wildfires in different parts of Portugal, which were fought by a total of 1,200 emergency services
In southwestern France, the fire service has been able to stop the further spread of two large fires in the Gironde department since Wednesday. In Spain, the regional government of Aragon spoke on Thursday of a “positive development” in a devastating fire in the municipality of Ateca.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
