The fire destroys about 700 thousand hectares of forest in Europe

The previous record in Europe dates from 2017, when 420,913 hectares burned as of August 13, and 988,087 hectares in one year.

Since January 1, the fires have destroyed 662,776 hectares of forest throughout the European Union (EU), according to data updated yesterday by the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis, for its acronym in English), which compiles statistics comparable since 2006 thanks to the satellite images of the European program Copernicus.

The area hardest hit by the fires has been the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, which has suffered two major heat waves this summer between June and August, 246,278 hectares were burned, mainly in the regions of Galicia, the province of Zamora and Extremadura. The situation improved in recent days with lower temperatures.

In Portugal, firefighters took a week to control a fire in the Serra da Estrela natural park, recognized by the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture, where 17,000 hectares burned.

France saw even worse years in the 1970s, before standardized data was established at the European level. But according to those figures, 2022 is the worst in the last 16 years, largely because of two successive fires in the Gironde department, near Bordeaux, which required reinforcements from German, Polish and Austrian firefighters this week.

The situation was equally exceptional in central Europe. In July, it took more than 10 days for firefighters to bring the biggest fire in Slovenia's recent history under control, with the help of a population mobilized with such enthusiasm that the government had to ask residents to stop donating to firefighters.

Lacking specialized aircraft to fight the fires, Slovenia had to ask for help from Croatia, which sent a plane before bringing it back to put out its own fires.

In terms of burned area, after Spain are Romania (150 thousand 528 hectares), Portugal (75 thousand 277 hectares) and France (61 thousand 289 hectares).

If the summer period is taken, "2022 is already a record year," Jesús San Miguel, Effis coordinator, explains to the AFP news agency.

The previous record in Europe dates from 2017, when 420,913 hectares burned as of August 13, and 988,087 hectares in one year.

Climate activists affiliated with the organization Extinction Rebellion took action against several golf courses in the south of France, filling holes with cement in protest at exemptions to water restrictions during one of the worst droughts in history. Extinction Rebellion Toulouse posted a photo on Twitter showing a golf hole filled with cement and a sign that reads: “this hole drinks 277 thousand litres. Do you drink that much? #Stop Golf”.

Lake Garda, Italy's largest, mythologized by the Romans and Germans and a magnet for tourists and celebrities, has lowered water levels due to the country's worst drought in decades, the British newspaper The Independent reported. .

The authorities channeled water from Lake Garda to the River Po, and although they have already suspended this practice, the Garda was harmed. Davide Bedinelli, Mayor of Garda, said: "Drought is something we have to deal with this year, but the tourist season is not at risk."

However, on July 20, Bedinelli wrote on Facebook that the lake loses two centimeters of water a day. The temperature of the lake on Friday was 26 degrees Celsius, usually at this time it was 22, now it is close to 27, which is close to the temperature of the Caribbean Sea.

In Sudan, at least 52 people have been killed and 25 injured as torrential rains have swept across the country, authorities said.