Picture courtesy of BBC | Copernicus

 

A staggering one million hectares have burnt across the EU, marking the most devastating wildfire season since 2006. With 1% of the Iberian Peninsula scorched, Spain and Portugal have suffered the most, highlighting a dire record.

 

The Mediterranean's worsening fire season links directly to climate change, reveals a study by Imperial College London. Experts caution that more frequent fires are likely, with over two-thirds of the EU's burnt areas located in Spain and Portugal.

 

In Spain, more than 400,000 hectares have turned to ash this year, shattering past records as it remains six times above the average from 2006 to 2024. Portugal too faces a terrifying reality, with 270,000 hectares destroyed, a record nearly five times the average. Together, these regions have seen a burn area totalling 684,000 hectares, equivalent to four times Greater London, with much of this devastation occurring in just two weeks.

 

Fires have ravaged forested zones in northern Portugal and Spain's northwest regions, such as Galicia and Asturias. Even protected sites like the Picos de Europa National Park have suffered, affecting popular routes of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. The EU's largest-ever deployment of its firefighting force has been initiated in response to this crisis.

 

Smoke has choked the air, reducing air quality and spreading to distant areas like France and the UK. The vicious wildfire cycle exposes the harsh side of climate change: the fires emit record levels of CO2, making future fires more probable. In Spain, CO2 emissions from this year's fires have reached 17.68 million tonnes, surpassing annual records since 2003, reported the BBC.

 

Firefighters across Europe have been battling blazes, with climate change making conditions in places like Turkey and Greece 10 times more likely to ignite fires. The shrinking rural population in Spain and Portugal adds to the wildfire intensity, as abandoned farmland leaves more flammable vegetation.

 

While fires are a natural part of Mediterranean ecosystems, modern wildfires surpass their natural limits. Once-resilient regions now risk being trapped in a warming cycle that threatens ecosystem stability. Scientists warn of increasing soil erosion and water contamination due to ashen runoff.

 

Efforts focusing on vegetation management and improving fire prevention and detection techniques are essential to mitigating future disasters. By tackling both climate change and practical fire management, the EU aims to prevent another catastrophic season.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from [source] 2025-08-29

 

Not to forget that most of these forest fires are criminal or by human negligence.

 

As for why ? ...options are open towards those who may have a motivation to these criminal acts, maybe in order to justify their dogmatic speech on global warming.