Record Wildfires in Spain and Portugal Fuel Concerns Across Europe

Sat Sep 13 2025 13:50:16 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

This year's unprecedented wildfires across Spain and Portugal have set a record for the European Union, burning one million hectares and impacting air quality from Portugal to the UK.

Wildfires in Spain and Portugal have burned over one million hectares in 2025, the worst season on record for the EU. These fires are attributed to climate change and are resulting in severe consequences, including degraded air quality and increased carbon emissions.

A record one million hectares - equivalent to about half the land area of Wales - have burned across the European Union so far this year, making it the worst wildfire season since records began in 2006.

Spain and Portugal have been hit especially hard, with roughly 1% of the entire Iberian Peninsula scorched, according to EU scientists.

The worsening fire season in the Mediterranean has been linked directly to climate change in a separate study by the World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London.

Experts warn that more frequent and severe fires across Europe are likely to continue in the future.

More than two thirds of the area burned in the EU is in Spain and Portugal alone, as over 400,000 hectares have burned since the beginning of this year up until 26 August in Spain. This record is more than six times the Spanish average for this time period between 2006 and 2024.

Portugal has also suffered a record burn area of 270,000 hectares so far, almost five times the average for the same period. The combined burn area across the Iberian peninsula this year is 684,000 hectares, with much of it occurring in just two weeks.

The fires have concentrated in the forested areas of northern Portugal and Spain's northwestern regions of Galicia, Asturias, and Castile and León. Protected areas, including the Picos de Europa National Park, have been impacted, along with major routes on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage network, which usually attracts more than 100,000 visitors in the summer months.

Smoke from the fires has dramatically decreased air quality, with winds carrying smoke as far as France and the UK. In addition, CO2 released by fires in Spain this year has reached a record 17.68 million tonnes, surpassing any total annual CO2 emissions from wildfires recorded in the country since 2003.

Climate change exacerbates conditions that lead to wildfires, creating a vicious cycle as fires contribute more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, further intensifying warming. Other regions across Europe, including Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, have also reported increased fire susceptibility due to climate change, urging the need for comprehensive management and preventive measures to mitigate future wildfire risks.