Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2021

The JRC forest fire reports provide harmonised information and assessment of forest fires’ effects in the pan-European region. They give detailed information on the actions taken in the countries as regards wildfire prevention, preparedness and firefighting, while addressing adaptation measures to mitigate wildfire effects. The final forest fire reports include information gathered at national level, shared during the year with the JRC for data comparison and comprehensive final overview of the fire season in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The 2021 edition is the result of a successful collaboration between the European Commission services and fire management agencies in 34 countries.

This report concludes that the 2021 fire season was the second worst in the territory of the European Union in terms of burnt area (since records began in 2006), after 2017 when over 10,000 km² had burnt. More than 5,500 km² of land burnt in 2021 – more than twice the size of Luxembourg – with over 1,000 km² burnt within protected Natura 2000 areas, the EU's reservoir of biodiversity.