EU to use satellites to track climate threats to forests

FILE PHOTO: Firefighting helicopters fly over Aguamansa, as wildfires rage out of control on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a forest monitoring system that will use satellites to track threats such as climate change-fuelled wildfires and illegal logging.

Climate change is taking a mounting toll on Europe's forests, as extreme heat and drought increase the risk of deadly wildfires. Nearly 900,000 hectares of EU land was burned in forest fires last year, an area roughly the size of Corsica, EU data show.