Spain is experiencing one of its most destructive fire seasons in decades, with wildfires killing four people, forcing thousands to evacuate, and burning over 382,000 hectares. New data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) show wildfire carbon emissions in Spain rose sharply during early August 2025, reaching the highest levels in the CAMS dataset dating back to 2003. By 18 August, emissions for 2025 exceeded previous full-year records. CAMS charts display a red 2025 line shooting above prior years and the long-term average, indicating an unprecedented surge in wildfire emissions for Spain and Portugal.
Spain is battling one of its most destructive fire seasons in decades, with new data showing that wildfire emissions have surged to their highest levels in at least 23 years. The fires have already killed four people, forced thousands to evacuate and burned more than 382,000 hectares an area larger than Mallorca. According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), wildfire carbon emissions in Spain rose almost vertically on monitoring charts during the first two weeks of August, overtaking all previous years in their dataset.
On the graph, the 2025 red line shoots sharply upwards from early August, far surpassing the steady grey lines of earlier years and the long-term average shown in black. By 18 August, Spain's wildfire emissions were already well above the previous record highs for a full year. Cumulative wildfire carbon emissions in Spain between 1 January and 18 August 2025 (red), compared with the 20032024 average (black) and annual totals from previous years (grey) (CAMS/ECMWF)
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