ISPRA calculates forest fires: in 2024 Italy will burn less than in the previous 5 years
16 out of 20 regions affected
Online Ecosystems and forest fires in Italy
During 2024, Italy was affected by forest fires covering a total area of 514 km2 (almost half the area of the municipality of Rome Capitale). Of these, 20% (about 103 km2 - an area almost comparable to the size of Lake Bolsena) were composed of forest ecosystems. 46% of the burned forests were evergreen broadleaf trees, such as holm oaks and Mediterranean scrub, 37% deciduous broadleaf forests (which lose their leaves in the cold season and regain them in spring) and 14% coniferous forests.
The fires that occurred in Italy in 2024 were less serious in terms of the extension of the areas affected compared to previous years; the overall extension of the areas affected by fire in 2024 is in fact equal to approximately 2/3 of the average value calculated in the period 2018-2023. The total surface area burned in Italy in 2024 is higher only than that burned in 2018 and 2019, but decidedly lower than all the years between 2020 and 2023. The numbers are significantly lower than in 2023 both for the total surfaces burned (-52%), and for the forest surfaces burned (-34%).
This is what emerges from the activities of ISPRA in the field of observations and monitoring of the impacts of large forest fires on ecosystems. The aim is to provide detailed information every year to support policies for the restoration and conservation of terrestrial ecosystems at a national and local scale. The data relating to the perimeter of the burned areas are provided by the European Forest Fires Information System of the European Copernicus Emergency program, and processed by ISPRA with machine learning applications for the recognition of the ecosystems involved in the fires.
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The surface area affected by fires decreased significantly in Sicily in 2024 and remained stable or increased in the other regions of the South, in Sardinia and in the other regions of the North, while it decreased in the regions of the Center.
In 2024, 16 out of 20 regions were affected by large forest fires. The regions of Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia together contributed to more than 66% of the total Italian forest area affected by large forest fires. The regions that did not have large burnt surfaces are Valle D'Aosta, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto.
The province that suffered the most from fires was that of Reggio Calabria with 10.3 km2, which alone represents 41% of the total forest area burned in Calabria and 10% of the total national forest area affected by fires. Also in the provinces of Cosenza and Nuoro, 9.4 km2 and 8 km2 of forest area burned respectively.
31% of forest ecosystems affected by fire in 2024 are located within protected areas, mainly belonging to Natura 2000 Network sites.
All the data can be downloaded at the following link:
Ecosistemi ed incendi boschivi in Italia dell’ISPRA
