Wildfires scorched more than 1.2 million hectares of land across Europe during July and August, according to a new map released by the European Union.
The map, which utilizes data from the European Forest Fire Information System, illustrates the areas where fires exceeding 30 hectares occurred between July 1 and August 31. The most severely affected regions included the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy, Greece, the Balkans, Ukraine, and Algeria.
Nineteen fires were classified as large, marked by red circles, indicating areas exceeding 10,000 hectares. Orange circles represented fires between 5,000 and 10,000 hectares, while smaller yellow circles denoted areas between 1,000 and 5,000 hectares. Orange polygons were used to show smaller burnt areas.
Scientists warn that a warming and drying climate is likely to increase the frequency and scale of such events. A recent study suggests that the area impacted by wildfires in Europe could nearly triple by 2100 under a high emissions scenario. This projection, based on computer modeling, anticipates an increase of 193 percent, reaching approximately 53,000 square kilometers annually.
Dr. Kirsten Thonicke of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research stated that climate change could create conditions so extreme that preventing and fighting fires once they reach a certain size becomes challenging. The Potsdam researchers' models indicate that without significant pollution reduction, temperatures could rise by 3.6°C (6.5°F) above pre-industrial levels, leading to this projected increase in burnt areas across western, central, and Mediterranean Europe.
However, the study also highlighted the potential impact of enhanced wildfire management. Professor Thomas Hickler of the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research noted that increased investment in fire management could substantially reduce the projected burned area. Continued improvements could potentially cut burned area by 92 percent in a 1.8°C warming scenario and 72 percent at 3.6°C. Yet, the researchers caution that these mitigation efforts might be insufficient if fires become exceptionally extreme, potentially overwhelming containment capabilities.
