Fires in Italy: over 1070 fires and 74 square kilometers of forests burned in 2026

Not only heat and bad weather, with the high temperatures and the arid soil due to the drought you also have to deal with fires. Which were not lacking this summer either.

From 1 January to 28 July 2026, according to what the ISPRA update relating to the monitoring system for the effects of forest fires reconstructs, just over 1070 large fires distributed across the national territory were detected by satellite.

«The overall surface covered by the fire amounts to approximately 74 square kilometers and an extension comparable to that of the entire province of Lodi - highlights the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection -. 14% of the entire burned surface was covered by forest ecosystems, including 37 square kilometers of evergreen broad-leaved forests (holm oak forests and Mediterranean scrub) and 24 square kilometers of coniferous forests (pine forests and fir forests)".

In addition to forest areas, the fires mainly affected 119 square kilometers of agricultural areas (16% of the total burned) and 451 square kilometers of permanent grassland areas (61% of the total burned).

Most of the fires were recorded in the South and on the major islands. In particular, Sicily (510 km²), Calabria (78 km²) and Puglia (48 km²) represent the most affected geographical contexts, contributing overall to 73% of the surface covered by fire so far at a national level.

"The same regions - underlined by Ispra - are also the most affected in terms of burned forest ecosystems".

In July 2026, some national parks and protected areas were affected by fires of particular importance, which involved ecosystems of high naturalistic value.