A stocktake of last year's fires in New Caledonia has found that 2019 was the worst year this century.
A grass fire between Queenstown and Arrowtown has been tackled. Photo: Photo / AFP
According to the the NGO Environment Observatory, there were 676 fires last year which destroyed 29,000 hectares of vegetation.
It notes that on New Caledonia's main island as much vegetation is burned as typically in all of France during its fire season.
Worst hit was the communes of the Northern Province, in particular the area around Ouegoa.
In the Noumea area, the fire near Mont-Dore destroyed 1,200 hectares.
The organisation says as a result, there is a risk of more erosion and the polluting of water supplies.
It says 58 species are at risk of extinction.
Last month, New Caledonia's Congress said a unanimous decision has been made to declare a climate emergency.
