Wildfires have destroyed nearly one million hectares of natural land in the European Union this year, marking a worrying fourfold increase compared to the annual average since 2006.
As of 19 August, a total of 967,026 hectares have been scorched by wildfires across EU member states, according to the latest figures from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), part of the Copernicus Earth observation programme. This represents an area nearly one-third the size of Belgium.
Spain has been the hardest hit, with an estimated 392,000 hectares of land burned, followed by Portugal with 261,000 hectares and Romania with 126,000 hectares. Tens of thousands of hectares have also been lost to fires in Italy, Greece, France, and Bulgaria.
Carbon dioxide emissions from these fires have also reached record levels. This year, wildfires in the EU released 35 megatonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere—more than double the annual average of 15 megatonnes recorded between 2003 and 2024.
Tragically, the fires have claimed lives as well. Spain and Portugal each reported three deaths, Cyprus two, and Greece and France one each. Thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes.
The devastation is not limited to the EU. Wildfires have also swept through countries outside the bloc, such as Turkey, the United Kingdom, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, leaving a considerable toll in their wake.
As of Wednesday, fires remain active in Spain and Portugal. Spain is battling 20 major fires at alarm level 2, particularly in the northwest and west of the country. Meanwhile, Portugal is contending with four significant blazes, with the most challenging located in the northern and central regions.
