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Europe's wildfires in 2023 were amongst the worst this century, report says

The 2023 wildfire season in the Europe was amongst the worst this century, according to a. European Commission report released on Wednesday.

In 2015, over half a million (504,002) hectares, an. area two times the size of Luxembourg, was scorched by wildfires,. according to a report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and. North Africa 2023 by the Commission's Joint Research study Centre.

The 3 worst years this century by the degree of charred. area mapped by the European Forest Fire Info System. ( EFFIS) were 2017 (988,427 ha), 2022 (837,212 ha) and 2007. ( 588,388 ha).

The report reveals that fires intensified during summer season 2023,. impacting mostly the Mediterranean region, with Greece (near. Alexandroupoli) suffering the largest single fire to happen in. Europe given that the 1980s.

Environment change is making wildfires more regular, and. wildfires are progressively affecting areas that have actually not been. thought about fire-prone in the past, the report stated. It added. that things are likely to become worse, according to the European. Climate Threat assessment report released in March.

Initial information for the first three months of 2024 program. almost double the typical variety of fires, although these did. not have major effect in regards to scorched locations.

According to the report, the wildfires produced some 20. megatonnes of CO2 emissions, comparable to nearly a third of all. emissions from worldwide air travel in the EU in one year.

The last 2023 report, incorporating nationwide contributions,. is due to be released in the autumn.

(source: Reuters)