Portugal wildfires suddenly expanded, the area burned exceeds 17 times compared to the same period last year.

The preliminary statistics released by the Portuguese Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation on the 16th showed that the area affected by wildfires in Portugal has increased drastically in the past two days. The total area burned since the beginning of the year has exceeded 139,000 hectares, which is 17 times higher than the same period last year. The institute stated that from the 14th to the 15th, the area affected by wildfires increased by nearly 64,200 hectares, accounting for 46% of the total area burned this year. So far this year, Portugal has experienced a total of 6,229 wildfires, an increase of 79% compared to the same period last year; the area burned is the second highest since 2017, when it was 164,200 hectares during the same period.