A moderate increase in forest fires occurred in Cyprus in 2024 compared to the two previous years, but not to the levels of 2021, according to a report by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, entitled "Forest Fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa 2024".
In fact, in Cyprus, burnt areas represented 0,36% of the country's protected areas, one of the highest percentages among member states, in third place after Portugal (1,53% of protected areas) and Bulgaria (0,53%). 25% of burnt areas were located in Natura2000 areas according to the report.
According to the report's findings, which use satellite imagery, the 2024 forest fire season was relatively mild in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, partly due to intermittent rainfall during the summer.
Looking at the broader picture, the report notes that serious fires have broken out since July, early in the fire season, with the most serious ones on some islands in Greece and Madeira in Portugal. In September, multiple fires also broke out in Portugal, burning more than 100 hectares in the EU in a week.
In total, 2024 thousand hectares burned in the EU in 419,298, slightly above the average for the period 2006-2023. A total of 35% of the burned land, corresponding to 147,014 thousand hectares, was located in Natura200 areas. Many fires were caused in Balkan countries, inside and outside the EU.
2024 was also a record year for forest fires in Ukraine, as satellite images show that almost one million hectares (965.000 ha) burned in the country last year – more than double the area burned in the entire European Union during the same period.
The areas where the fires occurred coincide with the war front between Ukraine and Russia that formed after Russia's invasion of its neighboring country in 2022. In fact, the effects of the conflict were worse in 2024 than during the forest fire periods in the previous two years.
In 2024 28 forest fires in Cyprus
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In Cyprus in particular, 2024 forest fires were recorded on the map in 28, with the burned areas covering a total of 3.529 hectares. These areas were somewhat increased compared to 2022 and 2023, when approximately 2,5 thousand hectares and almost 2 thousand hectares burned respectively.
In 2021, over 6 thousand hectares had burned, while in 2020 the area was similar to that of 2024. Since 2010, for which the report presents data, damage has been recorded around or below a thousand hectares, with exceptions in 2012, 2013 and 2016 when the burned areas were between 2 and 3 thousand hectares.
In 2024, over two-thirds of the land affected by fires burned in June, including the largest of the year in Paphos district (1600 hectares).
Of the burned areas, 860 hectares were located in Natura 2000 network areas, an area corresponding to a quarter of the burned areas of 2024, and 0,36% of all protected areas in the country.
According to the same data, 55% of the land burned by fires in Cyprus in 2024 consisted of agricultural holdings, while 39% concerned shrub vegetation.
Source: KYPE
