Tunis / Adel Al-Thabeti / Anadolu

Tunisian authorities announced Thursday that forest fires have destroyed about 4,400 hectares since the beginning of last May, an increase of nearly 63 percent compared to the same period last year.

This was stated in remarks by the Director General of Forests at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Mohamed Noufel Ben Haha, to the official Tunisian news agency.

Ben Haha said that the fires that broke out between May 1 and July 23 have destroyed about 4,400 hectares (1 hectare equals 10,000 square meters) of forest areas, compared to 2,705 hectares during the same period in 2025.

He added that during the same period, 75 forest fires and 108 bush fires were recorded, affecting several governorates, most notably Zaghouan (north), where about 905 hectares were affected, in addition to the governorates of Bizerte (north), Beja (north), Jendouba (north), Kef (west), and Siliana (west).

According to the Tunisian official, the General Directorate of Forests carried out 917 interventions to extinguish fires, covering forests, large agricultural areas, and landfills, compared to 620 interventions during the same period last year.

These fires coincide with a severe heatwave in Tunisia, during which temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius in several areas.