UAE continues its efforts to contain forest fires in Albania

The UAE rescue team is continuing its efforts to extinguish the massive wildfires raging across several areas of the Republic of Albania.

Since its arrival in Albania, the team has carried out 27 specialised aerial missions using two “Black Hawk” helicopters. These operations included 680 precise water drops on fire hotspots, during which more than 1,261 tons of water were used, significantly contributing to containing and limiting the spread of the fires.

These exceptional efforts come despite major field challenges faced by the team, including extremely high temperatures and the rugged geography of the affected areas. The operations are being carried out in close cooperation and continuous coordination with the competent Albanian authorities.

The team began its missions in the forests of Gramsh, Ballolli, the coastal area of Vlorë, and other regions, following the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to support the Republic of Albania in controlling the forest fires.

Coordination meetings between the UAE team and Albanian officials are ongoing to develop the necessary plans to accelerate firefighting operations, alongside continuous field monitoring of extinguished areas to prevent the fires from reigniting.

On the other hand, more than half of Europe and the Mediterranean basin was affected by drought in the first ten days of August, according to an AFP analysis on Monday of European Drought Observatory (EDO) data.

The 51.3 per cent figure is the highest level registered for the period of August 1-10 since data collection began in 2012.

Around half of the area has been affected by drought since mid-April 2025, a situation worse than the severe drought of the summer of 2022.

The Drought Observatory Indicator determined by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service uses satellite imagery to measure precipitation or rainfall, soil moisture and the state of vegetation.

Findings are then categorised into one of three levels of drought: watch, warning and alert -- the last level signalling that vegetation is developing abnormally.

In early August, 7.8 per cent of Europe and the Mediterranean basin was on alert, the highest level, while 38.7 per cent was on a warning level and 4.9 per cent on watch.

The Caucasus and north Balkans regions were most affected by the drought, with Georgia and Armenia affected on 97 percent of their territory, followed by Bulgaria and Kosovo. Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Hungary and Montenegro all saw three quarters of their surface area put on warning or alert.

WAM/ Agencies