"Climate change is helping to make wildfires that ravage hundreds of thousands of hectares of land on the Iberian Peninsula every year more common and intense, according to a new study. Researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network said in the study released on Thursday that the hot and dry conditions driving wildfires in Portugal and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe, were 40 times more likely to occur because of climate change."
"More than 380,000 hectares (940,000 acres) were burned this year in Spain, and 280,000 in Portugal. Both countries account for two-thirds of the one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land ravaged by wildfire across Europe this year the worst since the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System started recording in 2006, the WWA said. In total, more than 1 percent of the Iberian Peninsula's surface area was burned in 2025, the report added."
Climate change greatly increased the likelihood of hot, dry conditions that drive wildfires on the Iberian Peninsula, making such weather 40 times more likely. Portugal and Spain together suffered more than 660,000 hectares burned in 2025, representing two-thirds of Europe’s one million hectares scorched and the worst season since continental records began in 2006. Spain burned over 380,000 hectares and Portugal 280,000, totaling more than 1 percent of the Iberian surface. At least four people died and thousands evacuated. Rural depopulation and an ageing population left forests unmanaged, increasing fuel loads and vulnerability. Further warming will produce more extreme, concurrent fire-weather, straining firefighting resources and adaptation.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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