At the end of March, the 2024 advance report on forest fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa was published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The full analysis of the 2024 fire season will be published this fall, in collaboration with the European Forest Fire Information System EFFIS.
Overall, fire trends in the spring and summer of 2024 were reportedly not above the average of previous years due to intermittent rainfall across the Mediterranean region. New wildfire trends are emerging as a result of ongoing war conflicts in Europe, with a significant increase in occurrences even in previously less affected areas.
CONFLICTS AND FIRES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: NEW TRENDS
The 2024 wildfire season in the European Union ended with a total burnt area of 419,298 hectares. Of these, 147,017 hectares were located within Natura 2000 protected sites — approximately 70% of the area burned in 2023, and less than half of the 2022 total.
Compared to 2023, when the most affected countries were Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, the 2024 season has shown emerging trends driven by geopolitical developments.
Satellite imagery indicated that nearly one million hectares burned in Ukraine in 2024, more than double the total burned area in the entire EU during the same period. This represents a dramatic rise in fire incidents in Ukraine since 2022. As FIRE-RES partner Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa pointed out in 2023, Russia’s full-scale invasion has triggered a surge in wildfires across Ukraine’s forests and rural areas. Notably, the spatial distribution of the fires closely follows the front line of the ongoing conflict, highlighting the environmental consequences of military activities.
Another significant change from previous years’ trends was recorded in the territories of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The year 2024 was the most impactful season ever recorded for Israel, with a total of 17,274 hectares burned in 205 fire events. In Lebanon, it was the worst ever recorded in EFFIS, with a total area burned of 16,437 hectares; to complete, in the Palestinian territories, the hectares burned were 1,198, greater than in the previous 4 years.
In addition to increasing fire risk, the war has made the suppression of wildfires more difficult. Crucial resources and personnel have been redirected towards military purposes.
THE WILDFIRE SITUATION IN EUROPE 2024
In 2024, Europe experienced a fairly average wildfire season. Intermittent summer rains helped limit the spread of wildfires and kept the situation under control. Fires burned nearly 1.9 million hectares in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Among the affected countries, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Spain and Portugal recorded a substantial number of burned hectares. Nearly 60 percent of the total area burned in protected areas occurred in just three countries: Portugal, Bulgaria, and Spain.
If one excludes countries involved in armed conflicts, the European country most affected by wildfires in 2024 was Portugal, with 147,461 hectares burned, 100,000 of which were burned in a single week. The wildfire situation in 2024 was particularly critical on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Around a quarter of the total burnt areas on the island (36,661 ha) occurred on Natura 2000 sites, corresponding to 1.53% of the total Natura 2000 area in Portugal, making it the most affected country in 2024 in terms of damage to Natura 2000 sites.
Another country whose protected areas were heavily affected was Bulgaria, where around two-thirds of the wildfires occurred within Natura 2000 sites. Spain followed closely, reporting a significant impact on its protected ecosystems. Even if the Spanish 2024 fire season was below the average, 17,982 out of 47,607 hectares occurred on Natura2000 sites, the third highest amount in EU countries.
In Greece, EFFIS mapped the third-largest fire in Europe in Eastern Attica, which covered nearly 11,000 hectares. Of the total, around a quarter occurred on Natura2000 sites. In 2024, Greece recorded 43,593 hectares burned, significantly less than the 136,498 burnt hectares in 2023. The latter was a particularly tragic year for the country, with average temperatures exceeding the norm by 2-3.5 degrees Celsius, and a tragic toll of 23 civilian and one firefighter deaths during the wildfire season.
THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF FIRE–RES PROJECT
The 2023 report contains one of the most significant outcomes of the FIRE-RES project, confirming its effectiveness in promoting innovative and concrete policy development. In connection with the work carried out within the project, the former Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) has allocated a total budget of 70 million euros for the period 2024-2029. This funding was specifically dedicated to wildfire prevention, strengthening governance, and the National Centre of Expertise for fire management.
This important result was also made possible thanks to an effective and well-coordinated transnational collaboration involving the Dutch government, the Dutch fire brigade, the GRAF team of the Catalan Fire and Rescue Service and the Pau Costa Foundation. The official visits conducted by the former Agriculture Minister Van der Wal to the Catalan Fire and Rescue Service testify to the willingness to support actions that will reduce the risk of uncontrollable wildfires and the need for an integrated approach in which safety and nature management go hand in hand.
The specialized trainings organized within the project, first in Walsrode, Germany, and recently replicated in March in Portugal, serve as a concrete example of the key role played by FIRE-RES in fostering international networks and facilitating collaboration among diverse stakeholders. These high-level training activities also contribute to strengthening expertise and are crucial in developing and implementing effective policies.
The 2023 report mentions another important event supported by FIRE-RES and the Horizon project SEMEDFIRE; the WUR National Stakeholder Day “The State of the Wildfires 2023” has been held on November 27, 2023, in the Netherlands. This event brought together around 75 professionals from 38 organizations involved in land management, emergency services, governance, and research. It provided a valuable opportunity to contribute concretely to the development of European policies on extreme wildfire events, backed by a broad and solid expertise.
Thanks to the work of the Joint Research Centre and the EFFIS scientists, annual trends in forest fires in Europe are tracked. These key data highlight not only the environmental impact of conflicts but also the urgent need for coordinated and comprehensive action. With collective determination and decisive measures, Europe can tackle the forest fire crisis and protect its ecosystems for future generations.
Author: Francesca Moglia (Euromontana)
Contributor: Beatrice Bellavia (Euromontana)