Wildfires across Europe have reached unprecedented levels this summer, with France and Spain experiencing more than double the average burned area by the start of July. As of 1 July, 28,000 hectares had burned in France and 50,000 hectares in Spain, and further large fires have continued to spread since then.
Scientists have linked the extreme fire season to climate change, noting that the record-breaking heatwave in June would have been 'virtually impossible' without the burning of fossil fuels. Daytime highs are now 10 times more likely than two decades ago, and night-time lows 100 times more likely. The combination of a wet spring, which boosted vegetation growth, followed by intense heat and drought, has created abundant dry fuel for wildfires.
Julia Miller, a climate scientist at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, explained that a wet period followed by drought stresses vegetation and makes it more flammable. In Spain, an exceptionally wet winter and spring led to above-average soil moisture from March to May, but the subsequent heatwaves rapidly dried out the extra growth.
Experts are also pointing to a lack of land management as a critical factor. Fernando Pulido Díaz, a fire prevention scientist at the University of Extremadura, said that fuel availability driven by insufficient land management underlies extreme fires. The European Academies Science Advisory Council has criticised EU fire policies for focusing too much on suppression rather than prevention.
The European Parliament has approved €120.55 million from its solidarity fund to help Spain recover from last year's destructive wildfires, with additional funds for Romania and Cyprus. The European Commission has deployed a record number of firefighters and aircraft this year to combat the blazes.
