Cristina Montiel Molina

A US team has analyzed the evolution of the global population exposed to forest fires between 2002 and 2021. The study indicates that the number of people exposed has increased by 40%, despite a 26% reduction in the area burned. This is mainly due to the increase in the population living in urban-forest interfaces. 85% of exposures occurred in Africa, even though forest fire disasters in North America, Europe, and Oceania have received most of the attention, notes the study, which is published in the journal Science.  

Several areas in the region of El Bierzo in León and the province of Zamora have seen numerous forest fires in recent hours, forcing more than a thousand people from different municipalities to evacuate. One person has died. The flames have affected the Las Médulas natural area, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Another fire in Tarifa (Cádiz) has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, and also in Tres Cantos (Madrid), where one person died. In addition, there are active outbreaks in several areas of Galicia. The government declares a pre-emergency phase.

The last few weeks have been marked by devastating fires in Spain and other European countries. In Catalonia, just days after a fire killed two people and burned 5,500 hectares in the province of Lleida, another fire broke out in the province of Tarragona, affecting more than 3,200 hectares and now stabilised, which resulted in another person's death. What are the characteristics of these large fires? How can we prevent them? The Science Media Centre Spain organised an informative meeting with two experts to answer these questions and clarify key concepts.

Coinciding with the heat wave, numerous wildfires have started and spread in the Iberian Peninsula, with two fatalities in the province of Zamora.