The indicator examines the series of data relating to forest areas affected by large fires on a national, regional and protected area scale over the period 2018 to 2024.

The distribution and extent of forest areas affected by fires generally show significant interannual variability. In particular, 2024 was a year less severely affected by the extent of forest areas impacted by fires compared to previous years. The forest area burned was higher only than that burned in 2018 and 2019, but significantly lower than all the years from 2020 to 2023.

In 2024, the most affected regions were Sicily (2,588 ha), Calabria (2,494 ha) and Sardinia (1,734 ha), which together accounted for 66% of the total national forest area affected by fires.

The most affected forest classes are evergreen broadleaved forests (e.g., holm oak woods and Mediterranean scrub), followed by deciduous broadleaved forests (e.g., oak and beech forests), and much less by coniferous forests (e.g., pine, fir, and larch forests).

Linear regression analysis of the national forest cover series affected by fires does not show an increasing trend, although the size of the series does not allow for medium- and long-term evaluations. A weak but statistically significant increasing trend was instead observed for the regions of Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria.