In 2018 forest fires destroyed nearly 178,000 hectares (ha) of forests and land in the EU. Although this represents less than one-sixth of the area burned in 2017 and less than the long-term average, more countries than ever have suffered major fires, according to the Commission's annual report on forest fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, published on Thursday 31 October.
Last year, the highest number of fires of 30 ha or more were recorded in Italy (147 fires, 14,649 ha burned), Spain (104 fires, 12,793 ha burned), Portugal (86 fires, 37,357 ha burned), the United Kingdom (79 fires, 18,032 ha burned) and Sweden (74 fires, 21,605 ha burned, unprecedented in this country).
Sweden is the second most affected EU country, an unusual position in the ranking of northern countries. Although Portugal was again the country with the largest area burned, this represents only a small fraction of the area lost in 2017 and one of the lowest totals in the last 10 years.
Vulnerable ecosystems in the Natura 2000 network have lost 50,000 ha to fire, representing 36% of the total area burned in 2018. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)