Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

EU braces for intense wildfires as drought could become 'worst ever'

EU braces for intense wildfires as drought could become 'worst ever'

The European Union is bracing itself for a difficult wildfire season with hundreds of firefighters from different member states being deployed as the drought in southern European countries could become "the worst ever".
"Since 2017, we have witnessed the most intense forest fires ever seen in Europe and that we, unfortunately, expect the 2022 forest fire season could follow this trend," said Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission's vice-president for inter-institutional relations, told lawmakers on Thursday.

"Similarly, the Copernicus emergency management service indicates the present drought in Europe could become the worst ever," he added.

Climate change has increased the risk of fire, scientists say. Higher summer temperatures, coupled with the effects of more numerous and longer-lasting droughts make it easier for fires to spark and spread. The wildfire season itself has also become wider.

The EU and neighboring countries were severely impacted in 2021 with a series of wildfires, fuelled by record-breaking heatwaves, devastating farms, fields, and forests across the Mediterranean, including in Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Albania, North Macedonia, and Spain, Algeria and Tunisia in north Africa, and Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon and Israel.

Some wildfires led to apocalyptic scenes, such as in Evia, where people were forced to flee the Greek island by boat in the dead of the night.

According to the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, 2021 was the second-worst year ever recorded for forest fires in the Mediterranean, after 2017 and at least 86 people lost their lives.

Šefčovič said that to face these challenges "climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness are paramount" and that these efforts must include making ecosystems more biodiverse and resilient.

But he also told MEPs that to prepare, under the EU's "Civil Protection Mechanism this year, we financed by more than €14 million to support the RescEU fleet capacity with 10 canadairs, 1 heavy helicopter and two air tractors.

"We are planning to purchase 12 additional aircraft under (the project) rescEU. When national capacities are overwhelmed, (this protection force) is ready to step in to provide additional support to confront disasters in Europe.

"This year, for the very first time in the EU's history, the Commission is financing the prepositioning of 204 firefighters and ground vehicles from Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Norway and Romania to Greece during July and August. The first teams already arrived last week," he added.

Droughts are also increasingly a problem. The Italian government declared a state of emergency earlier this week in five regions because of a drought in the Po basin that has brought water reserves to their lowest levels in decades.

Nearly all of Portugal also faces "severe drought" after the hottest May in 92 years.

Šefčovič said when it comes to droughts the bloc has "the way how to respond in the short term, emergency measures through our EUCP (EU Civil protection) mechanisms and through our recently refurbished and upgraded EU wide early warning systems."

"And in the long run, what we need to do is to scale up better water use. In agriculture, we have to look at sustainable soil management and vegetation cover and we have to invest, as it was said by many, (in) drought resistant crops and restore damaged areas," he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×