Syria has witnessed a concerning increase in the number of agricultural fires, with a staggering total of 1,156 fires reported in less than a month. This development has spurred fears of a repeat of the devastating fires of 2025.
The Syrian Civil Defense reported that the total number of fires across the country from May 15 to June 19 has reached 5,266, including those affecting fields and crops.
As summer approaches and temperatures rise, crop fires have spread to most Syrian provinces, destroying thousands of acres of wheat and barley crops.
Despite awareness campaigns and warnings launched by the Syrian Civil Defense since the start of the fire season, agricultural fires persist, challenging Syria's efforts to secure its annual wheat requirement of 4.5 million tons.
This year, concerns are mounting over a potential repeat of last year’s fire disaster, which saw flames devastate nearly 20,000 hectares of agricultural and forest land across the provinces.
In addition to the fires, the recent flooding of the Euphrates River has damaged large areas of wheat farmland, particularly in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces.
Every year, farmers face a race against time to harvest crops before the fire risk escalates, while also having to wait for wheat and barley to ripen and dry naturally under the sun.
In its repeated advisories, the Civil Defense continuously warns against lighting fires near agricultural lands, discarding cigarette butts or glass bottles along roadsides, and burning dry grass around homes.