A significant increase in the number of fires, by 42% compared to the 2006-2023 average, was recorded during the 2024 fire season, according to a report by the FLAME fire-meteorology team, in the METEO Unit of the National Observatory of Athens, and WWF Greece. In fact, the study inaugurates a new collaboration between FLAME and WWF Greece aiming at a scientifically supported analysis of forest fires in Greece. The review aims to strengthen accountability and establish systemic processes, through which the necessary lessons will be learned after each fire fighting season in the country.
According to the study, 2024 was marked by a significant increase in the number of fires. Based on the data of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the burned areas are estimated at more than 41,900 hectares, while if small incidents that are not included in the EFFIS data set are taken into account, they approach 45,000 hectares. Consequently, as stated in the report, the burned areas during the 2024 fire season appear to be slightly below the national annual average of 50,492 hectares (2004-2023).
When the area burned and the number of fires are considered together, however, 2024 ranks as the sixth worst fire season during the period 2006-2023 (18 years). Even though the burned areas of the 2024 fire season appear reduced by about 20% compared to the corresponding average of the period 2006-2023, this is offset by the number of fires, which increased by about 42% in 2024 compared to average for the period 2006-2023.
Of these burned areas, according to the report, more than 25,500 hectares were forested, while more than 9,000 hectares were burned in 11 protected areas (including eight Natura areas). In addition to the important protected areas affected, more than 11,300 hectares were burned anew in less than 20 years.
The most burned areas were in the Attica Region (11,761 hectares), while this year's fire season was the second worst for the Peloponnese in terms of burned areas (9,401 hectares) from 2006 until the present day.
The three largest wildfires, according to the report, were the fire in Northeast Attica (Varnava - Penteli) in August 2024, the fire in Mount Orvilos in the prefecture of Serres in July/August 2024, as well as the fire in Rozeni (Xylokastro) at the end of September 2024.
The report noted that the pyrometeorological conditions in 2024 were the worst of the last 34 years in several regions of Greece, as the lack of rainfall and snowfall between September 2023 and May 2024 led to conditions of severe drought. In terms of the environmental conditions, the report noted that the 2024 fire season was the warmest in 34 years, while rainfall was also significantly reduced.