An overview of forest fires and meteorology in Turkey and Greece

The relation between fires and meteorological parameters, such as wind, temperature and humidity, are investigated in Greece and western and south western parts of Turkey. The study comprises a five - year period between 1993 and 1998 for Greece and 1999 and 2004 for Turkey. The selected areas examined in this study are Achaia (NW Peloponnese) and Crete (Heraklion area) in Greece; and Antalya, Izmir, Canakkale, Denizli, Isparta and Balikesir in Turkey. The results show that the highest number of fires was experienced in the year 2000. Similarly, the highest amount of forested area was also burned in the year 2000. Mugla experienced the highest number of fires, 1389 fires, during the study period. On the other hand, the highest amount of burned - area is observed in Balikesir, as 6946 ha. The annual analysis showed that the highest number of fires was observed in Mugla in year 2000 (330 fires) and a second highest in Antalya in year 200 (263 fires). Meteorological conditions during these five - year period are also analyzed in order to find any relationship between forest fires and meteorological parameters in the study region. Maximum monthly temperatures that were observed in year 2000 as well as the minimum humidity values confirms that high temperatures and low humidity increases the ignition potential and thus initiating forest fires.