Around 70,000 hectares have burned in Italy because of wildfires so far this summer, an area equivalent to roughly 100,000 soccer fields, the WWF said in a report on Wednesday.
    The environmental association said that was a 133% increase over the average of the past two decades.
    It said nearly one-third of the fires affected protected areas.
    The situation is even worse in other parts of Europe: 219,000 hectares have already burned in Spain and 91,000 in France, resulting in dozens of casualties and forcing over 300,000 people to temporarily evacuate their homes.
    Recent studies have demonstrated that climate change caused by human greenhouse gas emissions made the extreme weather that fuelled these wildfires at least twice as likely in France and at least 20 times more likely in Spain.
    "Europe is burning - but while firefighters are desperately pouring water on the raging wildfires, our leaders are sitting in air-conditioned rooms debating how far they should water down EU climate and nature laws.

The real question should be how to strengthen them to avoid future catastrophes," said Anke Schulmeister‑Oldenhove, Manager, Forests at the WWF EU.
    "Every hectare burned, every community evacuated and every ecosystem destroyed is a reminder that climate change is not a future threat, but a present-day reality.
    "The worst possible response is to dismantle the very policies designed to cut emissions, build the resilience of natural ecosystems and restore natural defences"

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