Europe

Spain reports historical figures for hectares burned by forest fires

More than a hundred fires broke out in the north of Spain on Friday, March 31. Some unusual conflagrations in the spring season that have already devastated more than 28,000 hectares so far this year. The authorities of the country assure that many of these were provoked. However, they warn about weather conditions that could make them increasingly common.

Spain burns in spring. The fires that affect the European country have already devastated at least 28,440 hectares in just the first quarter of the year. As the figures for the satellite images of the European organization EFFIS —and reported by EFE— are about an amount three times greater than the average for the period 2006-2022.

In addition, the affected land extension exceeds the data of entire years. According to EFFIS, in 2008 10,073 hectares were affected, in 2010, 19,770 hectares; and in 2014, 22,001 hectares.

Some data that show, for example, that Spain already has more than 14,000 hectares so far this year than in all of 2018.

The data is also worrying when compared with the figures for other countries in the European Union. Some 72,000 hectares have burned in the territory of the block this year, of which Spain concentrates 37%.

“Asturias burns us”

One of the most affected regions is Austrias, in the north of the country. There the authorities have reacted to the conflagrations. They assure that they have been provoked by environmental “terrorists”.

“We are facing real terrorists who are endangering lives, towns and cities,” said the president of the region, Adrián Barbón, on his Twitter account.


As shown by local media such as ‘The country’, said region of the country registered 96 forest fires on Friday. In the morning, 121 were counted.

The authorities have chosen to evacuate hundreds of people. According to said medium, the conflagrations have “forced to evict nearly 400 people. Many were able to return to their homes in the course of the day.

From China, the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, communicated with Barbón. “I just spoke with the president Adrián Barbón to learn about the evolution of the more than 100 fires that ravage Asturias,” he said on his Twitter account. He added: “My solidarity with the affected families and my gratitude to those who fight against the fire.”


The other affected regions

Austrias is far from being the only Spanish region affected. Cantabria, also in the north, presented 34 forest fires on Friday.

According to ‘The Cantabrian Newspaper’ This Saturday the autonomous community managed to contain all the conflagrations, according to data from the regional government.

“Saturday’s day began with eight active fires in the community, half of them located in the Vega de Pas area,” he adds.

Also, according to the information provided by the newspaper, Cantabria has suffered 343 forest fires in the month of March.

Further east, in the province of Castellón, a forest fire has been raging since March 23.

According to AFP, this is considered the first major fire of the year. “A total of 4,700 hectares were razed and 1,300 people were forced to evacuate,” the news agency said.

What are these unusual fires due to?

Beyond the reports of arson, weather conditions also play a role in the proliferation of these conflagrations.

As the news agency shows ‘The Associated Press’, ‘The Mediterranean region is warming faster than the global average due to the climate change caused by the release of greenhouse gases.

Fires in spring have become more and more frequent in Spain.
Fires in spring have become more and more frequent in Spain. © Alberto Saiz / AP

Some factors that, in addition to the fires, have also extended the heat waves and the prolonged drought in the country. Spain has had three consecutive years with insufficient rainfall.

The conflagrations in spring —a time that lacked these phenomena— have led to setting off the alarms of the Spanish authorities.

“Unfortunately, in recent years these fires are becoming normal. What is not so normal is that we see them in March,” warned the president of the Spanish Government. “This has a lot to do with the climate emergency facing the world,” Sánchez said.

For his part, the spokesman for the Spanish meteorological service, Rubén de Campo, detailed the factors that have made these conflagrations more common.

“The increase in temperatures combined with the westerly winds, which reach the hot and dry Mediterranean, cause the relative humidity to drop and the risk of forest fires to rise dramatically,” Del Campo explained.

These are climatic conditions that “favor large fires,” says Juli Pausas, a specialist in fire ecology who investigates desertification for the Higher Council for Scientific Research, for AP.

“We have known for a long time that the climate is changing, and we know that this would have consequences, including more forest fires, but we have not done enough to stop it,” the expert concludes.

Thus, the fires that were concentrated in the summer could also mark the spring panorama in the European country.

With EFE, AP, AFP and local media



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