![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\"){kind=logo}
\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
2024 was Europe’s hottest year since records began in 1940.<\/p>\n
Hotter and drier conditions, combined with more frequent droughts and heatwaves, are creating highly flammable landscapes, particularly in southern and central Europe, according to the European Environment Agency.<\/p>\n
Portugal recorded the largest burned area in the EU in 2024, with nearly 450 km2 of land destroyed.<\/p>\n
Fires occurred early in the wildfire season on the island of Madeira<\/a>, and later around mid-September on the mainland.<\/p>\n After Portugal, Bulgaria and Spain were the countries where flames consumed more land, with 310.9 km2 and 186.5 km2 burned, respectively.<\/p>\n It is not the first time wildfires have hit Portugal the hardest.<\/p>\n In 2017<\/a>, the country experienced an extremely destructive fire season. A total of 117 people died and 902.6 km\u00b2 were burnt.<\/p>\n Although this year’s fire season is not over yet, from the beginning of the year until 15 July, the area burned through is already three times higher<\/a> than the same period last year, according to the Portuguese National Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.<\/p>\n Between 2000 and 2024, wildfires burned an average of 3,770 km\u00b2 of EU land every year.<\/p>\n This accounts for an annual average of 10% of forests and 21% of grasslands being burnt in the EU.<\/p>\n It is estimated that wildfires cost the EU \u20ac2.5 billion every year, due to the destruction or severe damage to buildings and infrastructure such as power lines, water supply and transport routes.<\/p>\n They can also deter tourists, hitting local economies that depend on tourism.<\/p>\n What causes wildfires?<\/p>\n The European Environment Agency estimates that human behaviour and activities<\/a>, such as negligence and arson, directly or indirectly account for 95% of wildfires in Europe.<\/p>\n Human-caused fires often start near the border between built areas and semi-natural or wild areas, such as roads or towns adjacent to forests.<\/p>\n However, human ignition alone is not directly related to the spread and intensity of a fire.<\/p>\n