Greece reports lowest wildfire damage in Southern Europe for 2026

Greek Minister of State Akis Skertsos has released a report on the 2026 summer wildfire season, comparing Greece's performance with other Southern European nations. According to data from the Copernicus/EFFIS system as of September 9, 2026, Greece recorded the smallest burned area among five studied Mediterranean countries.

Specifically, Greece's burned area reached 335,230 stremmata, which is 30.1% below its 20-year average. In comparison, Spain recorded 2,965,020 stremmata (+246.6% vs average), Italy 1,075,970 (+104.3%), France 969,310 (+599.5%), and Portugal 654,380 (-13.9%).

Skertsos cautioned against premature celebration, noting that the fire season is not yet over and every forest fire results in significant losses. He attributed the increased resilience to systematic investments in prevention and detection, including the approximately 2 billion euro ‘Aegis’ program, which utilizes drones, satellite data, and specialized forest-firefighting personnel.