The results of an updated analysis of the area burned by forest fires in the continental part of the Attica region are impressively alarming: 37% of forests have burned in the last 8 years, i.e. from 2017 to mid-August 2024.
According to the Athens National Observatory Meteorological Service, based on data from the Copernicus Rapid Mapping Service and the European Wildland Fire Observatory (EFFIS), 13 major fires have burned more than 700,000 hectares since 2017 to August 13, 2024.
Map: pThe area of burnt areas in the Attica region from 2017 to the present day. Red and pink areas are those that burned in 2023 and 2024 (as of 13/08), yellow and orange areas are those that burned in the previous 8 years. The total area of the Attica region (excluding Trinityislands and basin) is 250,000 hectares, so in the last 8 years 26% of the total area has been burned by forest fires. In the Attica region, the forest area is about 123,000 hectares, and in the last 8 years 45,000 hectares of forest have been burned, that is, 37% of the forest area.
Some 25,370 hectares of forest were lost in 2021 and 21,560 hectares in 2023. A large forest fire over the weekend, which started in Varnabas and reached the residential area in the north-eastern Attica basin, 40 km away, burned most of the forest area of 9,600 hectares.
The fire destroyed fauna and flora in the area, homes, businesses and vehicles, and claimed the life of one worker.
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