in In the first half of 2022 Huge fires have engulfed vast tracts of land, destroying homes and depriving hundreds or thousands of people in several European countries. Heat waves and droughts, exacerbated by a warming climate, are making fires more destructive, more frequent, and more difficult to combat. The higher temperatures also mean that the fire season in many countries begins earlier than in the past.
The worst drought in history
Over the past five years, according to EFFIS European Union test The deadliest fires in historyand the present drought On the continent it could become the absolute worst.
According to the United Nations, the Mediterranean region is warming by 20%. Faster than the world average, however, the northern countries are also alive Standard temperatures. Last week Germany recorded the warmest day of the year (40.3 °C), the United Kingdom recorded the highest temperature ever recorded (40.3 °C), and Belgium recorded the second-highest temperature ever (39.1 °C).
Drama in Southern Europe
EFFIS put 19 European countries on the list of countries at risk of wildfires on Wednesday: from Portugal And the Spain In the southwest after Albania And the turkey in the southeast of the continent.
Previous fires in France In the southwestern Gironde province, more than 19,000 and about 34 thousand hectares. People were evacuated.
in Greece 50 to 70 fires have been recorded daily over the past week. It exploded on Tuesday Fire About 27 kilometers north of Athens and in the evening hundreds of residents were ordered to leave the city as the fire spread despite the actions of the 500-strong firefighting crew. The situation was brought under control a day later, but other fires broke out near Megara, west of Athens, and on the island of Salamis.
in Italia Fire It erupted near Karso on Wednesday, spread across the border into Slovenia and claimed more than 2,000 hectares of land. Tuesday’s fire in Tuscany destroyed 650 hectares and about 500 people were evacuated. Some liquefied gas tanks exploded.
in Portugal A fire in the north of the country devoured more than 12 thousand. Ha and killed two people. More than 3,000 firefighters and residents fought back as they tried to save homes. Earlier in July, several fires broke out in the town of Ourem, burning more than 3,000 people. Hectare.
in Spain Within a week, more than 30 fires devastated parts of the country. Earlier, a fire broke out in the province of Zamora, causing burns to at least 20 thousand people. hectares of land.
firefighting expenses
According to the report European Central Bank (European Central Bank) From 2021, climate change may decrease by 2030 Gross domestic product of the union by more than 4 percent. This year’s European Central Bank report estimated that “high physical risks” in the eurozone from climate change are more related to fires than to floods and rising sea levels.
Countries are already increasing their spending on firefighting. France has allocated 850 million euros to modernize its aircraft fleet. Greece It announced it had more planes and firefighters three years ago and allocated 75 million euros to activities such as deforestation.
Environmental groups such as World Wildlife Fund The WWF estimates that more money should be spent on fire prevention. A recent report said that Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France are spending up to 80% of their money. Funds available for amortization, and only 20 per cent. for prevention.
As Europe has not yet reached the height of the summer season, more severe weather conditions are to be expected.
The really annoying thing is that we only have a preview of what’s going to happen in a few years Reuters quoted a professor of forestry at the University of Lleida, Spain, Victor Risco de Dios.
