The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) of Copernicus raises up to 221,939 hectares, yes, until July 23
The fire has devastated 78,759 hectares of land in Spain between January 1 and July 17according to data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, a figure that the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) of Copernicus -the Earth observation program of the European Union- raises to 221,939 hectares, that yes, until July 23, six more days.
Effis is a Copernicus system that began operating in the year 2000 and since then has accumulated data on fires at a European level. Specific, places Spain as the country of EU with more hectares burned this year until July 23, exactly the fire has taken 221,939 hectares, which is more than 70,000 hectares more than those of Romania, the second country most affected this year by the spread of the fire, with 149,362 hectares burned.
The data for the country as a whole from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge are the provisional ones indicated by the autonomous communities on the fires, once the fire has already been considered extinguished, while those of the Copernicus system are daily data obtained via satellite.
In this way, probably The affected surface data offered by the Government will increase notably once they are updated this week, given the great virulence and extension of the fires registered throughout the Spanish geography during the last week.
At the moment, with the ministerial advance, In Spain, 78,759 hectares have burned until July 17a figure only surpassed in the last ten years by the year 2012 when in this same period 136,886 hectares had been burned.
This year’s figure almost doubles the average of the last ten years, since last year in this period 44.45 percent fewer hectares had been burned, exactly 35,008 fewer hectares. Also, compared to last year, in these seven and a half months, 43,141 more hectares have burnedor what is the same, that a year ago 54.77 percent fewer hectares had been burned.
Regarding the number of fires, this year there have also been more claims, specifically 6,097, compared to the 5,862 average of the last ten years and compared to 5,041 in the same period of 2021.
From them, the majority, 4,132, were near-misses, that is, they went out before a hectare of surface was affected, while 1,965 exceeded one hectare burned and increased the number of those considered fires. Also, of these 1965, a score passed the 500 hectares burned, what is called Great Forest Fires (GIF).
Thus, 2022 marks a new record in terms of this type of fire, since 2012, which has the largest number of affected hectares, had 19 GIFs until July 17, compared to 20 this year.
Regarding the type of vegetation, 36,789.45 hectares burned were wooded; 36,416.18 hectares of scrubland and open woodland and 5,553.46 hectares of herbaceous land.
Regarding the geographical distribution of the llamas, About half of the fires, 46.28 percent, have been recorded in the Northwest. There, 49.76 percent of the total burned wooded area burned and 52.61 percent of the total burned forest area in the country as a whole.
On the other hand, in the interior communities, where 36.75 percent of the fires occurred, 31.56 percent of the affected wooded area was burned and 30.52 percent of the burned forest area. Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean, where 16.62 percent of the fires were registered, 18.68 percent of the wooded area and 16.86 percent of the forest area affected in the country as a whole were burned.