Europe experienced its most devastating wildfires in 2024

The European Union saw its worst wildfire season on record in 2024, with flames destroying over one million hectares of land. At the same time, globally the burned area was the smallest in the past 20 years. Paradoxically, economic losses exceeded any previous record.

The European Union experienced its most severe wildfires in 2024, destroying over one million hectares of land in total. This makes the past year the most devastating wildfire season on record for the EU.

Despite Europe's record figures, global statistics told a different story – the smallest area of land was lost to fire across the world in the past two decades. This contradiction highlights how wildfire distribution has shifted geographically, concentrating particularly heavily across the European continent.

In terms of economic losses, 2024 also made its mark on history. Despite relatively less land burning globally, the financial damages associated with wildfires exceeded all previous records. This suggests that fires are increasingly breaking out in densely populated and economically valuable regions.

The intensification of Europe's wildfires has become an ever-growing challenge for both national fire services and EU-level coordinated emergency response systems. Hot and dry summers linked to climate change are creating increasingly favourable conditions for extensive wildfires across the continent.