It has been a month since many European countries issued heatwave warnings as people struggled to keep cool amid rising temperatures. But those warnings could not have anticipated the scale of the wildfires burning the continent's meadows and forests.
Two neighbouring countries have been in the spotlight: France, with more than 96,000 hectares of land burnt by mid-July, and Spain, with over 179,000ha, according to data from the Global Wildfire Information System. France's total so far this year is already more than three times the area burnt in the whole of 2025.
The two countries' combined total has far exceeded their 2012-2025 average for January to July. France’s burnt land is three times higher than that period's average of 30,653 ha, and Spain’s total is twice its average (80,064 ha).
Fires outpacing last year
Most of the wildfires in both countries occur in two seasons: the first from March to April and the second from mid-June to the end of September. The second season corresponds with the sunniest and driest period in the southern Mediterranean.
Both countries have been losing vegetation rapidly this year. In France, the area burnt peaked between July 15 and July 22 at more than 1,200ha per fire. This was a higher rate than Spain that week and even higher than the peak rate during Spain's 2025 wildfires.
The fires caused one of the largest civilian displacements since the Second World War. Evacuations affected more than 220,000 people across south-west France's Gironde, Landes, Var and Tarn areas. In Spain, wildfires forced the evacuation of at least 63,152 people from Madrid, Toledo and Avila, with over 25,000 displaced in Avila and more than 8,700 confined indoors.
There is little sign of relief before the end of the summer. Forecasts published on July 1 by the European Forest Fire Information System show a warmer-than-normal August across the continent.
The death toll from the heatwave is already severe. EuroMOMO, the mortality monitor backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organisation, recorded more than 10,000 excess deaths across 27 countries between June 22 and June 28. More than 9,000 of those who died were aged 65 and over.
