The Forest Rangers Corps said Monday Cuba registered a record high of 695 forest fires as over 20,000 hectares were blackened by forest fires from January to May, Cuba's drought season.

The drought has been worsened by the lack of rain, which also caused the surge in forest fires this year.

The Rangers Corps also said more than 90 percent of these blazes were caused by human negligence.

An estimated 55 percent of the these fires occurred in western Pinar del Rio and eastern Camaguey and Holguin provinces, as well as the Isle of Youth, a municipality off the south coast of mainland Cuba.

The Rangers Corps urged the public to be aware of the fires' impact on the environment and human health.