The wildfires in the Mediterranean region were exceptionally intense in July 2023, causing devastating damage. According to EFFIS, Europe’s Copernicus Program, the area burned is nearly twice as large as the long-term average. An EOC (Earth Observation Center) web service shows daily updates on the development of the fires. Evaluations made by the Center for Satellite-based Crisis Information (ZKI) provide information about the extent of damage, also using data from the German hyperspectral satellite EnMAP.
There were significant fires of catastrophic magnitude particularly in Greece, Italy, Tunisia, and Algeria. In order to assess and compare the environmental impact, temporal dynamics, and magnitude of such disasters over extended periods of time, EOC researchers utilize optical satellite images from the European Sentinel satellites 3A and 3B, as well as data from their American counterparts Aqua and Terra. Equipped with instruments for wide-scale monitoring of land and ocean surfaces, these satellites capture broad swaths of Earth's surface several times a day from altitudes of 700 to 800 kilometers with a ground resolution of 250 to 300 meters.
The high temporal frequency of these images makes it possible to fill data gaps—unlike radar satellites, optical instruments cannot see through smoke columns or clouds. Therefore, images successively arriving over several days are continuously and automatically aligned with each other, recalculated, and verified using a processor developed by EOC to improve the results and close data gaps.
These analyses are consolidated at EOC in the ZKI web service, where the trend of the areas burned over the past days and weeks can be followed.
Web application "ZKI Fire Monitoring System" as of July 31, 2023. It shows all areas with burned areas for the month of July 2023.
All results can be obtained through the EOC's geoservice and used for both current situational assessments and multi-year time series analyses.
The lower screenshot exemplifies the temporal progression of the devastating fire in Algeria between July 25th and July 31st, 2023, approximately 30 km west of the city of Béjaïa (with around 200,000 inhabitants). In total, an area of more than 15,000 hectares was burned, equivalent to more than 20,000 football fields or twice the size of Lake Chiemsee.
Timeline of the devastating fire in Algeria between July 25 and 31, 2023, approximately 30 km west of the city of Béjaïa.
In addition to the wide-scale analyses, the German hyperspectral EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) satellite monitored in detail the area damaged area in Algeria on July 26, 2023. With its 224 spectral channels in wavelength ranges between 420 and 2450 nanometers and a ground resolution of 30 meters, very accurate analyses are possible. The following DLR-ZKI map displays the burned areas analysis for the area west of the city of Béjaïa (Algeria), created as part of the "International Charter - Space and Major Disasters." Based on the evaluations, information can be provided about the settlements and roads affected by the fire. The mountainous, forested area along the Mediterranean coast is also used for agriculture and has been repeatedly affected by wildfires in recent years.
ZKI analysis of EnMap (fire areas) and MODIS data (thermal fire points) for the area affected by forest fires west of the city of Béjaia (Algeria), July 26, 2023.