Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean Türkiye
Abstract On the evening of July 28, 2021, the largest wildfire for the last century broke out in four different locations in a Mediterranean catchment in southern Türkiye; arson cases which came on the heels of anomalous temperatures and precipitation patterns. Aided by strong foehn winds and comple...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | npj Natural Hazards |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-025-00120-4 |
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| author | Bikem Ekberzade Tolga Görüm Furkan Karabacak Semih Sami Akay Ömer Lütfi Şen |
| author_facet | Bikem Ekberzade Tolga Görüm Furkan Karabacak Semih Sami Akay Ömer Lütfi Şen |
| author_sort | Bikem Ekberzade |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract On the evening of July 28, 2021, the largest wildfire for the last century broke out in four different locations in a Mediterranean catchment in southern Türkiye; arson cases which came on the heels of anomalous temperatures and precipitation patterns. Aided by strong foehn winds and complex terrain, the Manavgat Fire soon got out of control, spreading to 60,000 ha of dry conifer forest, shrubland, and rural settlements, killing 8 people, burning villages and livestock before it was contained 2 weeks later. In this study, we used climate, meteorology and remote sensing datasets, national fire archives, newspaper articles, dynamic vegetation modelling, site visits to better understand the natural and anthropogenic dynamics behind the wildfire and their impact. Our results highlight the contribution of deliberate human ignitions to the size of the burned area and suggest that effective policy measures can help to avert similar, if not more severe, future incidents. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-26f8397162be4e7a9caa868dae824e03 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2948-2100 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Natural Hazards |
| spelling | doaj-art-26f8397162be4e7a9caa868dae824e032025-08-20T04:01:43ZengNature Portfolionpj Natural Hazards2948-21002025-07-012111410.1038/s44304-025-00120-4Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean TürkiyeBikem Ekberzade0Tolga Görüm1Furkan Karabacak2Semih Sami Akay3Ömer Lütfi Şen4Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical UniversityEurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical UniversityEurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical UniversityDepartment of Map and Cadastre, Istanbul Topkapi UniversityEurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical UniversityAbstract On the evening of July 28, 2021, the largest wildfire for the last century broke out in four different locations in a Mediterranean catchment in southern Türkiye; arson cases which came on the heels of anomalous temperatures and precipitation patterns. Aided by strong foehn winds and complex terrain, the Manavgat Fire soon got out of control, spreading to 60,000 ha of dry conifer forest, shrubland, and rural settlements, killing 8 people, burning villages and livestock before it was contained 2 weeks later. In this study, we used climate, meteorology and remote sensing datasets, national fire archives, newspaper articles, dynamic vegetation modelling, site visits to better understand the natural and anthropogenic dynamics behind the wildfire and their impact. Our results highlight the contribution of deliberate human ignitions to the size of the burned area and suggest that effective policy measures can help to avert similar, if not more severe, future incidents.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-025-00120-4 |
| spellingShingle | Bikem Ekberzade Tolga Görüm Furkan Karabacak Semih Sami Akay Ömer Lütfi Şen Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean Türkiye npj Natural Hazards |
| title | Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean Türkiye |
| title_full | Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean Türkiye |
| title_fullStr | Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean Türkiye |
| title_full_unstemmed | Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean Türkiye |
| title_short | Up in flames: the human factor behind a megafire in Mediterranean Türkiye |
| title_sort | up in flames the human factor behind a megafire in mediterranean turkiye |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-025-00120-4 |
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