Wildfires burn 60,000 hectares in Italy this year: industry association

ROME, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Wildfires have so far burned more than 600 square kilometers (60,000 hectares) of land in Italy, more than in all of 2022, Coldiretti, the country's main agricultural association said on Friday.

It said that the past two unusually dry and hot summers have left water levels in rivers and lakes low, contributing to dry conditions in wooded areas. The areas impacted most by the fires are the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, but other parts of southern Italy also experienced uncontrolled blazes. Most recently, fires torched the eastern part of the Tuscan island of Elba.