More than 100,000 hectares of land have been ravaged by wildfires across Europe this summer, according to a report by Distrelec, a major supplier of components for early warning sensors of fires and based on data by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
According to Bloomberg, Greece has suffered the worst damage, costing 1.66 billion euros and with more than 50,000 hectares of land laid to waste up until Aug. 30.
In fact, the east Mediterranean country suffered from the most devastating wildfires in the past 16 years, with at last 19 reported victims – including the pilots of a downed water-dropping plane.
Meanwhile, according to an EFFIS analysis of data collected by Meteo, Greece set a new negative record related to the impact of wildfire fronts in 2023, compared to other Mediterranean countries faced with similar adverse weather conditions.
As also widely reported, despite the fact that fewer wildfires erupted this summer season than in previous years in the country, more land was ravaged.
