The WWF assessed the 2024 fire season in Greece, estimating that around 500,000 acres burned—close to the average for this period over the past 20 years, “despite claims to the contrary.”
The organization noted that “focusing only on high forest areas may create a favorable narrative by making the burned forest areas appear smaller, but this view is far from reality.”
In the August fire in northeastern Attica, for instance, of the 109,710 acres burned, 90,500 were forest areas—not the 10,000 acres claimed by the government.
The government reported 9,101 fire incidents between January 1 and October 22, compared to a 20-year average of 8,703 for the same period.
In just 40 hours, mature forests, primarily on the northern slopes of Mount Penteli and in Marathon, burned, comprising the 10,000 acres the government frequently references. However, beyond these, valuable areas with shrubs, low vegetation, persistent natural regrowth, and previous years’ reforestation efforts were also destroyed. According to the government, these do not qualify as forests and thus are not counted in forest losses. However, these areas are among the most significant forested lands lost this year.”
WWF notes that fire prevention and suppression have improved, but all influencing factors (such as climate change) need to be considered, as they affect fire intensity and, consequently, management approaches
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