Floods, wildfire and storms: what is the EU's disaster response?

Article 08-10-2024 - 14:15 20241007STO24471 Floods, wildfire and storms: what is the EU's disaster response? Find out more about how the EU helps Europeans recover from the effects of natural disasters. People are rescued by volunteers and firefighters from the flooded city of Larissa, central Greece, on 9 September, 2023. The frequency and intensity of natural disasters in Europe is increasing. Largely due to climate change and urbanisation, Europeans have had to deal with more extreme weather including heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods and storms in recent years. Natural disasters in Europe As the European Environmental Agency points out, global temperatures have been increasing, with 2023 being the warmest year in more than 100,000 years. In addition, Europe is the Directorate General for Communication European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume Duch Guillot Contact: webmaster@europarl.eu 1 I 4 fastest-warming continent and temperatures are predicted to rise even further. This often results in extreme weather conditions, such as droughts and wildfires. For instance, the record drought of 2022 was aggravated by wildfires consuming 900,000 hectares in southern Europe - an area the size of Corsica. In 2023, wildfires burned an additional 500,000 hectares, primarily in Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. However, the impact of climate change is not limited to extreme heat: it has also led to severe flooding across Europe. In the past 30 years, floods have...