France, Spain and Greece battle wildfires as Europe swelters
Record-breaking wildfires are sweeping across France, Spain, and Greece, fueled by extreme heat and dry conditions. The fires have already burned over 435,000 hectares, significantly exceeding historical averages for this time of year.
Why it matters
The increasing frequency and severity of these wildfires highlight the escalating impact of climate change on European infrastructure and public safety.
Fire weather in the European Union has broken records for severity for this time of year, data shows, as firefighters race to extinguish blazes across the Mediterranean .
Inflamed by carbon pollution, the hot, dry and windy weather across the EU since the start of the year has been 43 per cent more severe than the end-of-July average over the last two decades, data from the European Forest Fire Information Service (Effis) shows.
Three firefighters died in Greece on Tuesday, officials said, while others in France and Spain made overnight progress tackling monster blazes that have burned dangerously close to large cities.
The figures, which were published on Thursday but may be revised further, showed that so far this year 435,000 hectares (1,075,000 acres) have burned, roughly triple the recent historical average. The devastation is the result of 1,400 fires, more than double the average.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in