The provisional report of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), indicates that, between January 1st and October 15th, 10,449 rural fires occurred, resulting in 110,007 hectares (ha) of burned area, between villages ( 54,801 ha), bush (44,114 ha) and agriculture (11,092 ha).

Compared to the same period in 2021, the burned area has more than tripled, with the flames having consumed 82,796 hectares more this year, and fires have increased by 40%, with 2,997 more fires.

"Comparing the figures for 2022 with the history of the previous 10 years, it is noted that there were 29% fewer rural fires and 12% less burned area compared to the annual average for the period. October 15th, the fourth lowest number of fires and the fifth highest value of burned area since 2012", reads the document.

Provisional data show that the years with the most burned area in the last decade were 2017 (537,131 hectares), 2016 (166,185), 2013 (157,327) and 2012 (117,870).

The biggest fire to date was the one that started on August 6th in the municipality of Covilhã and that reached the Serra da Estrela area over 11 days, having consumed 24,334 hectares of forest, followed by the fire in the municipality of Murça (Vila Real ) which in July caused 7,184 hectares of burned area

According to the document, July is the month with the highest number of rural fires, with a total of 2,629 fires, which corresponds to 25% of the total number recorded this year, and that month is also the month with the largest burned area, 50,399. hectares, which represents 46% of the total.

The ICNF also states that the actual burned area value (110,007 ha) corresponds to 72% of the "weighted burned area", which means that the burned area in 2022 is lower than the "expectable" burned area, taking into account the severity meteorological (high temperatures, strong wind, absence of precipitation and low relative humidity) verified.