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  • 5 months ago
Which EU country was the worst affected by wildfires in 2024?

Human behaviour drives the vast majority of wildfires in Europe, but climate change is what is making them more frequent and intense.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/08/08/which-eu-country-was-the-worst-affected-by-wildfires-in-2024

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Transcript
00:00Which EU country was hit the hardest by wildfires in 2024?
00:092024 was Europe's hottest year since records began in 1940. Hotter, drier conditions combined
00:16with more frequent droughts and heatwaves created highly flammable landscapes, particularly in
00:21southern and central Europe. Portugal recorded the largest burnt area in the EU, nearly 450
00:29square kilometers. Fires occurred early in the wildfire season on the island of Madeira and later
00:35around mid-September on the mainland. After Portugal, Bulgaria and Spain were the countries
00:41where flames consumed more land in 2024. It's not the first time Portugal has been hit the hardest
00:47by wildfires. The country also topped the EU in burned lands in 2017 and 2018. Although the 2025
00:55fire season isn't over yet, as of the 15th of July, the burned area is already three times higher
01:02than the same period last year, according to the Portuguese National Institute for Nature Conservation
01:07and Forests. Between 2000 and 2024, wildfires burned an average of 3,770 square kilometers of EU land a
01:17year. This accounts for an annual average of 10 percent of forests and 21 percent of grasslands
01:22being burned in the EU. It's estimated that wildfires cost the EU 2.5 billion euros every year.
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