More than 110 hectares of forest land burned down in Turkey in 2019
More than 110 million square-meters of forest land burned down in Turkey in the year 2019, daily Milliyet reported on June 20. While those responsible for half of the fires remain anonymous, more than 30 percent of the fires were determined to be a result of neglect.
Duvar English
Some 113,320,000 square-meters of forest land burned down in Turkey in 2,688 fires in 2019, daily Milliyet reported on July 19, adding that those responsible for almost half of the forest fires that burned 3,744 hectares of land remain unidentified.
Some 33 percent of forest fires were caused by neglect, meaning 883 incidents including cigarettes and picnics that scorched through 6,529 hectares of forest land.
Meanwhile, some five percent of forest fires, meaning 124 incidents, were reportedly arson that scorched 686 hectares of land.
Turkey's forest land measured at 22,740,297 hectares at the end of 2019, with a mere 1.7 percent annual growth.
The Mediterranean province of Antalya ranked as the province with the most forest land, measuring 1,146,062 hectares of forest land.
The northern province of Kastamonu followed with 873,651 hectares of forest land, made up mostly of evergreens that thrive in the cool and humid climate.
The Mediterranean province of Mersin came in third with 835, 534 hectares of forests, followed by the Aegean town of Muğla that measured 829, 309 hectares.
Located on the Armenian border, the eastern province of Iğdır was revealed as the most barren city in Turkey, measuring a mere 161 hectares of forest land.
Iğdır's neighbor Ağrı followed with 5,906 hectares of forest land.
The third most barren province was Nevşehir in central Anatolia, measuring 11,195 hectares of forest land.
The western province of Muğla was home to the highest number of forest fires in 2019 with some 264 incidents, but western Izmir was subject to the most damage, homing 43 percent of all forest land that burned down in the country.