Wildfires
Rural depopulation is playing a major role in causing fires in Romania
In the fourth part of the "Romania is burning" series, we explain how the emptying of Romanian villages has unforeseen consequences. Where there is no more work, farmlands burn – taking with them forests and protected wildlife.
Greece’s map for predicting wildfires is anachronistic and inadequate
Greece's current wildfire prediction map lacks transparency and fails to account for real-time weather changes, resulting in inadequate response to rapidly evolving fire conditions.
Depopulation is changing the fire map of Europe
The rural exodus and the climate crisis have transformed Europe's countryside, and with it the fires that affect the continent every summer.
Ukraine’s wildfires surge amidst war
Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine led to a surge in forest and rural fires across the country. Combating them is all the more difficult amidst the war that binds all resources and unexploded mines that contaminate the territory.
A Czech national forest park is reviving after a devastating fire
On the first anniversary of the fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, a reporter and photographer from Deník Referendum spent a day there in the company of local experts Dana Vébrová and Jakub Hruška. What they saw contradicts much conventional wisdom.
Eucalyptus fever: speculation and wildfire in Galicia
Eucalyptus, a tree species that thrives on fire, now accounts for 28% of the forests in the Spanish region of Galicia. The situation has come about through the policies of the local Popular Party.
Despite a mild climate, forest fires are a serious problem in Romania
Romania has a temperate continental climate, which does not make it prone to forest fires. So why do so many of them happen? Fire risk is going to increase even further due to climate change – but the country seems not to be fully prepared for it yet.
Croatia shows how to deal with the worst wildfires
Last year Croatia’s coastal region was hit by an intense wave of forest fires, one of the worst in recent years. But the country has been gearing up to cope – partly thanks to EU funding.
Romania burns: Vegetation fires claim victims
Vegetation fires not only destroy the environment - they kill animals and people, too. Last year alone, 15 people died in Romania due to out-of-control fires - which are almost always man-made.