European wildfire losses reach €3.1B amid extreme heat

The damage caused by wildfires and heatwaves across France, Spain and other European countries has reached an estimated €3.1 billion, underscoring the growing economic impact of climate change-driven fires.

According to the Financial Times, citing data from the European Commission, nearly half a million hectares of land have burned during the first two months of the wildfire season.

The newspaper reported that the fires have caused economic losses of €3.1 billion across the five hardest-hit eurozone countries—France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Romania. The figure significantly exceeds the European Commission’s estimate of €2.5 billion as the average annual wildfire-related damage for the entire European Union.

Over the past decade, wildfire losses have surpassed the €3 billion mark only once, in 2021. By comparison, the damage caused by wildfires last year was estimated at around €500 million.

Stabil.Az