Flames burned over 316,000 hectares in Portugal this year
According to the European Commission's system, last Sunday alone, the worst day of the year in terms of the number of wildfires in Portugal, almost 54,000 hectares have been burned.
In Portugal, this year, wildfires have destroyed over 316,100 hectares, according to the European Commission’s system, which points to almost 54,000 burned hectares this Sunday alone — the worst day of the year in Portugal in terms of the number of wildfires.
The data available since this Tuesday morning on the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), from the European Commission, which presents satellite images of mapped burned areas, indicated that in the Pinhal Litoral area alone (a sub region in the Center of the country), which includes the Pine Forest of Leiria, 11,394 hectares burned on Sunday and Monday.
The second largest area that was destroyed by flames was the Pinhal Interior Norte region, which includes the municipalities of Penacova and Arganil: over 16,000 hectares burned down, according to EFFIS.
When also considering this Saturday and Monday’s fires, EFFIS presents a total amount superior to 64,000 burned hectares.
The European Union country that comes close to Portugal in terms of burned area is Italy, with a total of 133,526 hectares — less than half of the Portuguese territory.
In the latest report from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), including data up to September, it was stated that forest fires had burned over 215 thousand hectares this year, the highest amount in the last 10 years.
According to ICNF, the worse years ever in Portugal in terms of burned area were 2003 (425,839 hectares) and 2005 (339,089 hectares).
