Total area burnt in forest fires in Bulgaria in 2024 highest in a decade – EC report
The total recorded burnt area in Bulgaria in 2024 was the highest for more than a decade, exceeding the totals for the previous four years combined, according to a March 25 report by the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Centre, titled ‘Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2024‘.
The report said that in Bulgaria, 45 435 ha was mapped from 256 fires, including two of around 8 000 ha and a further 15 over 500 ha.
The vast majority of the damage occurred in July when the largest fires of the year were mapped.
Of the annual total, around two-thirds (29 976 ha) occurred on Natura2000 sites, amounting to 0.53 per cent of the total protected land in Bulgaria. Agricultural land was particularly impacted in 2024.
The report offers a broad view of the 2024 wildfire season, which was relatively mild in Europe, Middle East and North Africa, thanks in part to the intermittent rainfall during the summer.
The report nonetheless demonstrates that 2024 was a record-breaking year for forest fires in Ukraine.
Satellite imagery shows that nearly one million hectares (965 000 ha) burnt in Ukraine in 2024 – more than twice the area burnt in the entire European Union during the same period.
The spatial distribution of the fires matches the line of the war front between Ukraine and Russia, showing the impact of Russia’s illegal invasion on Ukraine’s forests. The effects of the conflict appear to have been worse in 2024 than in previous fire seasons since the war started, the EC said.
(Photo, from July 2024: Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry)
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