AI Image Nicosia: The EU’s climate commissioner on Friday announced a continentwide army of 300 firefighters to fight wildfires, as Europe faces its worst year ever for wildfires in 2025, which a recent study said was intensified by climate change. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said Friday the “rapid reaction force” would be made up of firefighters from across the 27-member bloc and would be rapidly deployed where needed. Hoekstra decided the unit was formed last year.
He acknowledged that this may require more personnel and equipment in the future, but called it “a big step forward compared to about five years ago. ” “This is a clear sign of solidarity and we want to tackle this together,” Hoekstra told a news conference after a meeting of EU environment and climate ministers in the Cyprus capital. Hoekstra did not specify where the unit would be located and whether it would be activated in time for the summer wildfire season.
In September last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would set up a Cyprus-based regional firefighting center that could also help Middle East countries deal with major wildfires. Von der Leyen said in her annual address to the European Parliament that it was necessary to “equip ourselves” to deal with wildfires due to climate change as summers become “hotter, harsher and more dangerous.
” rapidly. Hundreds of wildfires that broke out in the eastern Mediterranean in June and July were fueled by temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (about 104 Fahrenheit), extremely dry conditions and strong winds.
The fire killed 20 people, forced 80,000 to flee, and burned more than 1 million hectares (2. 47 million acres). The World Weather Attribution (WWA) study said fires were 22% more intense in 2025.
The worst year of wildfires recorded in Europe. The study found that since the pre-industrial era, when heavy reliance on fossil fuels began, winter precipitation before wildfires had declined by about 14%. It also determined that due to climate change, week-long dry, hot air that causes vegetation to burn is now 13 times more likely.