journalist-freelancer – North Macedonia
North Macedonia is known as a country with a large number of sunny days and a warm climate. Located in the heart of the Balkans, this small country has for decades been recognized worldwide for its beautiful mountain landscapes and stunning sunsets. However, what was once a Мacedonian synonym for many, is now becoming a huge problem for its citizens. The sun burns too intensely during the summer months in the last couple of years. Air temperatures often exceed 40 degrees Celsius, creating prolonged heat waves, accompanied by long periods without precipitation and strong winds. North Macedonia is affected heavily by the climate change and the situation on the ground in recent years shows that the greatest threat comes from forest fires.
Last year was catastrophic for Macedonian forests, which were largely destroyed under the dangerous combination of prolonged heat waves with high temperatures mixed with strong wind and droughts. Burned forests data for 2024 is staggering. The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), a component of the EU Copernicus Emergency Management Service, reported that in 2024, over 95,000 hectares of forest burned in North Macedonia. Most of the fires occurred during July and August 2024.
The summer fires of 2024 were devastating for Macedonian nature. According to the media, the burned area of 95,000 hectares in a single year is almost identical to the total forest area affected by fire in the previous ten years. Official data from the State Statistical Office of North Macedonia shows that the country had 1,008,541 hectares of forests in 2023. This means that just last year, the country lost as much as 9.4% of its national forest as a result of fires.
“In August, numerous wildfires blazed out of control across the country. In response to urgent requests for assistance from local authorities, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated. As a result, ten aerial firefighting teams from six different EU Member States were deployed to help contain the fires,” was published as a statement on the Copernicus website last September.
So far, local authorities have not released official data on the total damages caused by last year’s forest fires. However, statistical data shows that the severity of forest fires has been increasing over the years, and with that, the environmental threats, risks to the population, and financial damages are also growing.
Similar to the damage caused last year, catastrophic forest fires in North Macedonia were also recorded in 2021 and 2019. According to official data from the State Statistical Office, in 2021, more than 11,420 hectares of forest were burned in 142 forest fires. The estimated material damage that year amounted to 2,318,091,000 denars, or over 37.6 million euros. Based on such calculations from 2021, it follows that North Macedonia suffered damages from forest fires last year amounting to around 300 million euros.
Another disastrous period was 2019, when a total of 29,807 hectares of forest were burned in 135 fires across the territory of North Macedonia. Data from the State Statistical Office show that there were also major forest fires in 2017 and 2012, when together more than 27,000 hectares of forest were destroyed.
The consequences of forest fires are enormous. The fires destroy trees, which are our greatest allies in the combat against climate change with the absorption of carbon dioxide. Instead of being carefully used in climate action measures, North Macedonia as a country, through forest fires, releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Additionally, the destroyed forests are almost always cut down, and the bare hills are reforested at a very slow pace.
Even when tree-planting campaigns are organized, it takes many years to repair the damage from forest fires. In some locations in the country, the bare hills pose a risk of landslides, which cause additional damage. As a result of the forest fires, many animals suffer and biodiversity is disrupted.
The negative consequences of the climate change in North Macedonia are not taken seriously, either by the authorities or by the citizens. A journalistic investigation published this year showed that in the period from 2015 to the end of 2024, only 15 criminal offenses against 15 individuals were recorded by the North Macedonian Ministry of Interior for causing forest fires under Article 227 of the Criminal Code.
Tackling the awareness around this crucial question, the Special Eurobarometer was released by the European Union at the beginning of 2025 about the citizen’s knowledge and attitudes toward science and technology. This survey was conducted in the EU-member states and countries-candidates for EU membership and it shows that Macedonian citizens have divided opinions on the question who caused the climate change. The survey conducted in North Macedonia shows that almost half of the respondents said that it is true that “climate change is for the most part caused by natural cycles rather than human activities”. 45% of respondents in North Macedonia said that it is true that the climate change is mostly result of natural cycles and 52% confirmed that this statement is false.
With such devastating data in the prevention and fight against forest fires caused by climate change, North Macedonia will face the 2025 summer months with growing fear and risk of destruction of newly forested areas. We are yet to calculate the negative numbers of destruction from this year.
