Fires: already more area burned in the European Union than in 2021

The forest fires that have raged in Europe in recent weeks, particularly in the west of the continent hit by heat waves, have already affected more area than during the whole of 2021, according to the European specialized monitoring service.

In the 27 countries of the European Union, fires have ravaged a total of 517,881 hectares since the beginning of the year (figures from July 16), i.e. just over 5,000 km2, equivalent to the surface of a French department like Mayenne, or the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

40,000 hectares burned in France since January

For the whole of 2021, which was marked by numerous fires in Italy and Greece, 470,359 hectares (4,700 km2) had burned in EU countries, according to data compiled by the European Fire Information System. forest (EFFIS).

If the trend continues, 2022 could thus equal or exceed 2017, the worst year recorded in the EU since the creation of EFFIS in 2000, which saw 988,087 hectares of vegetation go up in smoke, i.e. nearly 10,000 km2 or the area of a country like Lebanon.

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Nearly 40,000 hectares have burned in France since the start of the year, compared to just over 30,000 for the whole of 2021, more than 190,000 hectares in Spain, compared to almost 85,000 in 2021, and more than 46,000 in Portugal compared to more of 25,000 in 2021.

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Even countries unaccustomed to forest fires, such as Great Britain where the temperature for the first time exceeded 40°C this week, see the areas affected fly away: a little more than 20,000 hectares have burned there since the start of the year, compared to just over 6,000 in 2021, according to EFFIS.

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