Record wildfires sweeping across Europe are exposing the mounting costs of failing to adapt to a changing climate, scientists warn. As of July 1, wildfires had burned 28,000 hectares in France and 50,000 hectares in Spain—more than double the average for that time of year—with even larger fires consuming additional land in the following week.
Extreme Weather Fueled by Climate Change
The record-breaking June heatwave that scorched Europe would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, according to scientists. Daytime highs are now 10 times more likely than two decades ago, and night-time lows 100 times more likely. Researchers are also investigating whether early heavy rains contributed to the fires.
“If a period of active vegetation growth is followed by a period of drought and heat, vegetation becomes stressed and transforms into flammable wildfire fuel,” said Julia Miller, a climate scientist at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF and lead author of a recent study on compounding wildfire risks.
Wet Springs and Hot Summers Create Fuel
In Spain, a rain-heavy winter and spring spurred plant growth, with surface soil moisture above seasonal averages from March to May, according to Copernicus data. However, when a freak heatwave hit in late May, followed by an even more punishing one in late June, the extra vegetation dried rapidly. Scientists cited this combination as a factor in Spain’s record-breaking wildfire season last year, noting that high vegetation water content initially reduced fire potential but was lost during long heatwaves, leaving an extensive fuel surplus.
“In most parts of Europe, there is enough vegetation to burn,” said Miller. “The critical question is when that vegetation becomes dry enough to burn.”
Land Management Gaps Worsen Fire Risk
Southern Europe has seen increasingly overgrown vegetation as rural villages hollow out, with young people moving to cities and abandoning farmland. Last year, the European Academies Science Advisory Council criticized EU fire policies for focusing too much on suppressing blazes after they break out rather than preventing conditions that allow fires to run wild. They called for greater efforts to stop global heating and better landscape planning.
“Climate itself cannot provoke fires if there is no plant fuel, so fuel availability driven by absence of land management is a critical factor underlying extreme fires,” said Fernando Pulido Díaz, a fire prevention scientist at the University of Extremadura and co-author of the report. “The issue has been debated in many forums, but there is a general lack of practical implementation beyond pilot projects led by local communities.”
Costs Mount as Europe Struggles to Adapt
Europe is increasingly bearing the costs of a hotter world it has failed to prepare for. On Tuesday, the European Parliament voted to release €120.55 million from its solidarity fund to help Spain recover from destructive heatwaves and wildfires last year, with an additional €23.55 million approved for Romania and Cyprus. The European Commission, which deployed firefighters and water-bearing planes to aid France and Portugal, said it had deployed a record number of firefighters to combat wildfires this year.
Fossil fuel pollution and nature destruction have heated Europe about twice as fast as the global average. In February, the EU’s science advisers warned that adaptation efforts were insufficient, incremental, and often coming too late, recommending preparations for 3°C of global heating even as they urged greater efforts to meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement.
“I see wildfires breaking records in Europe almost every year,” said Miller. “Wildfire preparedness and management is becoming increasingly important, but at the same time, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address the root cause of the emerging wildfire crisis.”
