Forest fires

In southern Europe, wildfires involving settlements are becoming increasingly frequent, because of the burgeoning number of houses and infrastructures located within, and adjacent to, areas prone to wildfires. Climate change projections, in particular for the Mediterranean areas, but also for other parts of Europe, indicate an increase in air temperature, heat waves and dry spells, and a decrease in summer rainfall, contributing to increased ignition probability and fire propagation during the summer period
Multiple factors influence the exposure to forest fires, the sensitivity to these and the response capacity (table). The following maps depict some of these factors and provide some indication of the situation (in green). They need to be interpreted as a whole, together with the other factors still requiring local or qualitative information.

Factors that tend to increase the vulnerability to forest fires …	Response
Exposure	Sensitivity
High share of urban areas in forest fire risk zones	High share of vulnerable people	Commitment to fight climate change - trust in city governance
High share of population in forest fire risk zones	High share of low-income households - socio-economic status	Trust in other people
Forest fire danger	High share of residential areas in high-risk zones	Education
Drought situations	High share of commercial areas in high-risk zones	Socio-economic status - financial resources
Increasing temperature	High share of transport infrastructure in high-risk zones	Accessibility for fire fighting and evacuation
Increase wind speeds	Proximity to forests and high number of vegetated areas at the edge of cities	Awareness of business and citizens
Human behaviour increasing ignition probability	High share of very young population	Well-functioning institutional structures and processes
...	High share of lonely pensioner households	Sufficient capacities in administration to act
	High share of other service infrastructure in high-risk zones	Availability of effective forest fire management
	…	…