Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated in France and Spain, and in some places the authorities are calling forest fires fires of the century. According to data from the European Earth observation program Copernicus, Spain is the EU country hardest hit by this year's fires, with the highest proportion of burned land in relation to its area. So far, more than 200.000 hectares have burned in Spain, which is about 0,4 percent of its territory.
Neighboring Portugal is not faring much better either, recording the second highest share of burned land in the European Union - about 0,3 percent of the territory.
The areas around the Mediterranean Sea have a dry and warm climate that favors fire, and long-term droughts and high heat waves dry out plants and soil. This is why large forest fires are frequent in Croatia, Montenegro or Greece.
In the last two years, Serbia has also recorded an increase in the number of forest fires, and their main cause is man and his carelessness. In many ways it is influenced by climate changes.
"We try to draw lessons and benefits from every year, so that we can be better prepared for the next year. We always hope that the next year will be better and milder," said Aleksandar Krstić, head of the department in the Directorate for Fire and Rescue Units of the Serbian Armed Forces.
He added that large material damages from fires mostly occur due to late notification to the authorities. Krstić appealed to farmers not to burn plant residues in their fields, because in this way they can cause extremely great damage.
Which regions are the most threatened?
Answering the question whether fires can sometimes start from just one spark, Krstić said that they can and that near the railways, fires often start from sparks between rails and trains. In addition to sparks in nature, fires can also be caused by glass.
"Citizens should know that glass never disintegrates in nature, it just stays there, and above all we should take care not to throw it in nature, not throw it anywhere except where it is intended. When glass is in nature, it can start a fire at a certain angle," said Krstić.
Lightning strikes are also frequent causes of fires.
"Fires are also frequent on high mountains, hills and in abandoned villages where there is no one to inform us that there is a fire," said Krstić, "where there are the most forests, which are the west, east and south of Serbia."
Climate changes
Professor of the Faculty of Forestry, Slobodan Milanović, told CINS in 2022 that the period between two extreme years will be shortened due to climate change.
"Extreme fires will not occur every five years, but approximately every three years, and thus that period will be shortened, and the fire season will be prolonged. I don't think we have a developed awareness of the danger that threatens us," Milanović said.
Serbia has ten percent less forest than the European average. In as many as 95 percent of cases, forest fires are caused by humans, he adds, but the frequency is also affected by the climate
"The number of forest fires is increasing because we have global warming. The Balkans is the area that will suffer the most if we look at Europe, because the temperature will rise there the most, and the amount of precipitation will decrease the most, and we will have a large number of extreme events. When it comes to fires, drought is important for us, which will be more and more pronounced, in longer periods, therefore, in the summer, it drastically increases the risk of forest fires," Milanović told CINS.
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