According to a report published in April by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, more than 500,000 hectares of land burnt in the European Union in 2023. This makes last year the fourth worst year since 2000 in terms of forest fires.
In addition to some 120,000 hectares of forest fires, 37% of the fires in Europe in 2023 burnt mainly shrubs and leathery vegetation in Mediterranean regions. In these areas, forest fires occurred during the summer and up until October.
As well as being devastating for nature and people, the forest fires of 2023 also released some 20 megatonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere, causing further environmental damages.