Results obtained from data analysis on areas burned by forest fires over the past six years (from 2017 to the present) in the Attica region are shocking.
Between 2017 and the end of July 2023, as a result of 11 major fires, more than 550,000 strems burned down (55,000 hectares), according to reports from the Copernicus Operational Mapping Service and the European Forest Fire Observatory (EFFIS). The perimeter of the burnt territories is shown on the map below.
Figure 1. Perimeter of burned areas in the Attica region from 2017 to the present. Plots burned in 2023 (before 31/7) are marked in red, while those that burned in the previous 7 years are in yellow and orange. The territory of “Greater Athens” is marked in grey.
The table below shows the number of hectares burned per year since 2017.
Table 1. Total burnout areas in 2017-2023 in the Attica region.
The total area of the Attica region (excluding the territory of Troizinias, the islands and Lekanopedio) is 250,000 hectares, so over the past 7 years, 23% of the total area has burned down from forest fires.
“The above alarming figures for Attica highlight the need for a comprehensive review of our country’s forest fire management strategy,” indicate meteo.gr and the Athens National Observatory. – The Athens National Observatory believes that forest fire management requires an integrated approach that includes advanced knowledge of various sciences, including pyrometeorology. Emphasizing that the occurrence of extreme forest fires is associated with the conjugated interaction of fire and the atmosphere (wind), therefore, the development of a management strategy is impossible without the active participation of meteorological knowledge.In addition, fire and meteorological conditions determine whether and when the forest fuel will become combustible, which also affects the characteristics of the spread and behavior of a fire. Observation networks such as those of METEO/EAA’s automatic weather stations can make a significant contribution to the development of a comprehensive science-based strategy for forest fire management in our country.”
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