In particular Portugal has been hit hard by large wildfires in previous years (photo: Contando Estrelas, www.flickr.com)
People in northern Europe have been treated to many summer days already this year, and there are many more to come. A high-pressure area has settled over Scandinavia and seems to be going nowhere this week. This guarantees sunny skies and high temperatures. It also raises the risk of wildfires, especially since the previous months have been dry, increasing the flammability of the vegetation. To make things worse, a strong, dry wind is blowing. These are typically the conditions for wildfires to occur. For parts of Scandinavia and the Baltic States wildfire warnings have already been issued (see www.meteoalarm.eu).
We keep you informed on the latest scientific insights on Europe’s wildfire risks. In 2016 we published a set of three longread articles that summarize these insights. They are just as current as they were two years ago. We'd like to bring them to your attention, to refresh your memory, or in case you haven’t read them before.
Wildfires and climate change: a connection that’s hard to deny
- A summary of the impact of climate change on wildfire risk increase.
Wildfires increase in Europe from north to south by a factor 10!
- A description of how wildfire risk changes across Europe.
Wildfire risk is increasing, how to adapt?
- An overview of the measures that are needed to fight wildfires that seem to get out of control, and on strategies to limit the increasing wildfire risk.
