MOSCOW: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that climate disasters had caused 32 billion euros (US$37.4 billion) in damage to the kingdom over the past five years.
“This is a state of emergency that is not limited to fires or summer.
“Over the past five years, the Spanish have experienced Filomena [winter snowstorm that hit the country in early January 2021], torrential rains … These extreme climate events have forced the state to pay 32 billion euros to cover material damage,” Sanchez said on Monday, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
He noted that the current fires have become the most destructive in the country’s modern history. Thus, since the beginning of August, there have been 130 fires, destroying 330,000 hectares, the prime minister added.
Last week, the Spanish government declared 16 of the country’s 17 autonomous communities as areas seriously affected by emergencies caused by forest fires.
Estimates published by the European Forest Fire Information System showed that forest fires in Spain had burned more than 410,000 hectares (1.01 million acres) since the beginning of the year, which is almost 10 times more than during the entire 2024. – BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI
