The quality of air in Serbia has been the subject of discussion for years, and it is no secret that the country is the worst in Europe in terms of premature pollution-related deaths. Recent satellite data accessed by Deutsche Welle in cooperation with the European Data Journalism Network is revealing.

Fine particle pollution causes premature births, illness, and, in Slovenia, more than 800 preventable deaths every year.

Large forest and grassland fires are one of the most dramatic consequences of the ongoing climate catastrophe. Year after year, media coverage of fires ravaging Canada, Australia, Greece or Portugal is increasing; rising temperatures, however, mean that the threat is growing in many areas of the world – including Central Europe.

The Greek region of Evros, devastated by fires last summer, is also the external border of the EU: there is a strong temptation to blame the fires on the migrants who cross it. Experts, however, point out the responsibilities of the Greek institutions.

When talking about fires we typically imagine a terrifying and catastrophic event. But the use of controlled fires is once again becoming common practice in Europe: together with livestock grazing, it is looking like an essential and economical technique that can prevent genuinely catastrophic fires.

By aligning itself with the recommendations of the car industry when adopting new emission standards, the European Union could be caving in to the industry lobby at the expense of taxpayers' money and citizens' health, according to confidential documents obtained by Voxeurop.

Portugal is Europe's third largest producer of wood pulp, an industry that relies heavily on the eucalyptus tree. In 2017, a devastating fire in Pedrogrão Grande ignited a debate on the industry's responsibility to prevent such disasters. In particular, the issue of biodiversity was brought back to centre stage. Reportage.

The high number of highly flammable spruce monocultures in Czechia is mainly due to conservative forestry and poorly framed legislation. But while the climate is already shifting, the laws that are holding back forest conversion have remained unchanged on the books for decades.

A new EU agricultural policy has brought a qualitative change in forest-fire protection. Governments will now spend twice as much as before on measures such as reforestation to reduce soil drying.