Syria: Wild Fires - Jul 2023

Fires started since end of June in Homs, and the intensity of the fires increased from 15 July 2023 with the peak intensity on 25 July and lasted for few days, including Homs, Hama, and Latakia governorates. Most of the fires were in rugged mountainous remote areas. The intensity and size of bushfires in some areas have led to the creation of their own weather systems, generating pyro cumulonimbus clouds, trapping heat, and generating strong wind, in turn sparking further fires. High winds have also helped the bushfires to spread, with some fires jumping over highways and roads. These fires led to material and environmental damage, as a few homes of a number of residents were torched, in addition to burning agricultural crops on which they depend as a main source of livelihood, in addition to burning a large part of the vegetation, forests, and natural reserves. [...] The communities affected by the recent fires, are already exhausted due to complicated reasons including the effects of the continuous Syrian crises, climate change, and the last earthquake. Families were suffering to hold their resilience and protect their livelihoods, among huge lack of resources, funding, aid, water, electricity, proper infrastructure, etc. (IFRC, 11 Aug 2023)