Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Wildfires in Istanbul Princes Islands

Depending on the climatic change, the air temperatures in our country are increasing and the irregularities in the seasonal transitions are increasing day by day. These irregularities cause quite devastating effects for our country especially in the regions that are in the Mediterranean belt. In the studies carried out by scientists, it is estimated that the Mediterranean zone abnormal air temperatures of our country will reach the upper parts of Ankara by 2050. This situation has been noticed by all of us, especially in recent years. In last decades, changes in climate have had a major impact on forest fires. Also, both the number of forest fires and the increase in burning areas reached the highest point in 2021. In this study, the temporal and spatial changes and characteristics of forest fires occurring in the forest areas - as well as fire sensitivity - of Princes Islands in Istanbul are discussed. In the total forest area in the Princess Island, 57% of the forests have high fire risk, 23% high risk and 22% medium fire risk.