{"id":269539,"date":"2023-07-26T14:27:28","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T12:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=269539"},"modified":"2023-07-26T14:27:39","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T12:27:39","slug":"is-global-warming-behind-greeces-wildfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=269539","title":{"rendered":"Is global warming behind Greece\u2019s\u00a0wildfires?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

h\/t Paul Kolk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer\u00a0wouldn\u2019t be complete without hordes of disgruntled British tourists being evacuated from their hotels, flown home early or spending their holidays sprawled on the floor of an international airport. But are the scenes of Rhodes really a symptom of a the world \u2018being on fire\u2019, as Greta Thunberg would put it?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, in spite of scenes of burning forests on Rhodes and elsewhere being presented daily on our television screens, 2023 has not been a devastating year for forest fires in Europe. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), which covers the EU, shows that it has been an average year to date \u2013 with an early burst of fires in the spring followed by less activity since then.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a similar story with wildfires globally. A 2016 study published in a Royal Society journal using Nasa satellite data surprised many people by revealing that the amount of land burned annually in wildfires globally had decreased by about a quarter between 2001 and 2015. The authors have since updated their study and confirmed that in spite of increasing agonising over fires in the US, Europe and Australia, the amount of land being burned is still falling. This data includes all wildfires, not just forests \u2013 and globally 70 per cent of fires are on grassland rather than forests.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of this is to say that climate change is not increasing the risk of fires in certain locations at certain times of year, but it does rather undermine lazy claims about the world being on fire. If anything, the world is being damped down.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have been conditioned to think that climate change is the overwhelming problem facing human civilisation and all other life on Earth. But why is the extent of fires not actually increasing in the way that climate campaigners frequently claim? Partly because in some places shifting patterns of rainfall have reduced the risk of fire. But also because rising global temperatures are not the only influence on fires.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is the extent of fires not actually increasing in the way that climate campaigners frequently claim?<\/mark><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incidence of wildfires also has a lot to do with land use. Where wildfires have increased in recent years, such as in some parts of Eastern Europe, it is down to farmland being abandoned and allowed to return to scrubland, which contains far more flammable material. Urban development close to forested areas also plays a big role, increasing the sources of ignition through barbecues, overhead electricity wires and so on.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forest management also has a lot to do with it. Wildfires are, in many cases, natural events sparked off by lightning strikes \u2013 indeed, they play an essential role in many eco systems, with some plants taking advantage of fire in order to germinate. But in some parts of the Earth, especially the US, fire fighting authorities have become a little too good over the past century in fighting wildfires.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incidence of fires in the US may have risen since the 1970s, but it is still a long way down on where it was a century ago. The result is that whereas in the past forests were regularly thinned out by fire, now dead wood is allowed to accumulate on the forest floor, meaning that when the forest does eventually catch fire you end up with a much bigger and less controllable fire. As Valerie Trouet, professor of dendrochronology (tree ring dating) puts it, the US is suffering from a \u2018century of fire deficit\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how much easier to watch British holidaymakers fleeing from Rhodes with their suitcases, blame everything on climate change and claim the world is turning to ashes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.spectator.co.uk\/article\/is-global-warming-behind-greeces-wildfires\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data below from the EU confirms that wildfire area has been declining since the 1980s:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.eea.europa.eu\/data-and-maps\/daviz\/burnt-forest-area-in-five-4#tab-chart_5<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as we often find, the fires are started by arsonists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/rhodes-wildfires-corfu-greece-arson-110146897.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forest management also has a lot to do with it. Wildfires are, in many cases, natural events sparked off by lightning strikes \u2013 indeed, they play an essential role in many eco systems, with some plants taking advantage of fire in order to germinate. But in some parts of the Earth, especially the US, fire fighting authorities have become a little too good over the past century in fighting wildfires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":269548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821359,691818056,691821358,691821357],"class_list":{"0":"post-269539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-arsonists","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-greeces-wildfires","11":"tag-rhodes","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0fabd80ac-8257-45d3-bc14-7de355f7a8f3-AP_Greece_Wildfires.webp?fit=3200%2C1800&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-187p","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":299815,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=299815","url_meta":{"origin":269539,"position":0},"title":"EU Wildfire Trends","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/02\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2022 report states that 96% of wildfires are caused by human actions. It is a simple fact that much of the Mediterranean region is a tinder box every summer, just waiting for a spark.","rel":"","context":"In \"European Environment Agency\"","block_context":{"text":"European Environment Agency","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=european-environment-agency"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0ad_213954899.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0ad_213954899.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0ad_213954899.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0ad_213954899.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0ad_213954899.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":277507,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=277507","url_meta":{"origin":269539,"position":1},"title":"BBC\u2019s Extreme Summer Weather\u00a0Propaganda","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As for the hysterical nonsense about flooding, both the El Cordonazo in 1939, and Hurricane Kathleen in 1976, which both followed similar tracks to Hilary, dumped much more rain on Southern California. Every year there are floods, heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes and wildfires. There is no evidence whatsoever that this year\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0heatwave-illo-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0heatwave-illo-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0heatwave-illo-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0heatwave-illo-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0heatwave-illo-1.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":400049,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=400049","url_meta":{"origin":269539,"position":2},"title":"Stop Promoting Attribution Studies, Associated Press, Europe\u2019s Wildfires Aren\u2019t Worsening","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Associated Press (AP), via ABC News, claims that climate change is responsible for the intensity of European wildfires in a story titled \u201cClimate change made deadly wildfires in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus more fierce, study finds.\u201d This is false. Data show no long-term trend of increasing wildfires in any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"ABC News\"","block_context":{"text":"ABC News","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=abc-news"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQNLWjyzyIRjwRxNTTwUCKzV-jH2Wx1_cypEypPdW6K5e8Pt74kqyUEdP5mO2iwW6KNOKJKUiFuyc5dVy0dTObfYu50FivLLeZE_rco4C96GbggUwAg93k2vac1mBr1ldB9uFH4CJTBO6siuI2KHcepZPpM5-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQNLWjyzyIRjwRxNTTwUCKzV-jH2Wx1_cypEypPdW6K5e8Pt74kqyUEdP5mO2iwW6KNOKJKUiFuyc5dVy0dTObfYu50FivLLeZE_rco4C96GbggUwAg93k2vac1mBr1ldB9uFH4CJTBO6siuI2KHcepZPpM5-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQNLWjyzyIRjwRxNTTwUCKzV-jH2Wx1_cypEypPdW6K5e8Pt74kqyUEdP5mO2iwW6KNOKJKUiFuyc5dVy0dTObfYu50FivLLeZE_rco4C96GbggUwAg93k2vac1mBr1ldB9uFH4CJTBO6siuI2KHcepZPpM5-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQNLWjyzyIRjwRxNTTwUCKzV-jH2Wx1_cypEypPdW6K5e8Pt74kqyUEdP5mO2iwW6KNOKJKUiFuyc5dVy0dTObfYu50FivLLeZE_rco4C96GbggUwAg93k2vac1mBr1ldB9uFH4CJTBO6siuI2KHcepZPpM5-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQNLWjyzyIRjwRxNTTwUCKzV-jH2Wx1_cypEypPdW6K5e8Pt74kqyUEdP5mO2iwW6KNOKJKUiFuyc5dVy0dTObfYu50FivLLeZE_rco4C96GbggUwAg93k2vac1mBr1ldB9uFH4CJTBO6siuI2KHcepZPpM5-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":275186,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=275186","url_meta":{"origin":269539,"position":3},"title":"Bloomberg\u2019s Wildfire Denial","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bloomberg are doing what they are accusing a tiny handful of conspiracy theorists of doing, by invoking the climate bogeyman!","rel":"","context":"In \"Bloomberg\"","block_context":{"text":"Bloomberg","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bloomberg"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-08-12T113605.127.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-08-12T113605.127.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-08-12T113605.127.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-08-12T113605.127.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":275668,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=275668","url_meta":{"origin":269539,"position":4},"title":"Greece arrests 79 people on arson charges as fire death toll reaches 21","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Authorities in Greece have arrested 79 people on charges related to arson as the death toll rises to 21.","rel":"","context":"In \"arsonists\"","block_context":{"text":"arsonists","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=arsonists"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Screenshot-2023-08-26-154857.png?fit=975%2C561&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Screenshot-2023-08-26-154857.png?fit=975%2C561&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Screenshot-2023-08-26-154857.png?fit=975%2C561&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Screenshot-2023-08-26-154857.png?fit=975%2C561&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":409613,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=409613","url_meta":{"origin":269539,"position":5},"title":"Rain causes wildfires \u2013 the climate change gospel\u00a0","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Met Office is determined to convince us of the immediate need to cut greenhouse gas emissions. As part of its campaign, it is now reporting that the California wildfires in January were caused by severe heatwaves, droughts and, er, heavy rain. Yes, really.","rel":"","context":"In \"California fires\"","block_context":{"text":"California fires","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=california-fires"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=269539"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269549,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269539\/revisions\/269549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/269548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=269539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=269539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=269539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}