Climate change tripled Iberian fire size in 2025
A new report states that human-caused climate change made the extreme weather across Spain and Portugal in 2025 three times more likely.
Record burning area observed
The latest global State of Wildfires report shows the burned area was three times larger than usual. This event surpassed previous records even for the year 2026 according to EFFIS data sets. More than 40,000 people were evacuated as fourteen megafires raged across the Iberian region. Spain recorded its highest burned area since 2002 while Portugal saw its largest single wildfire on record.
Scientists explain fire drivers
Researchers identified prolonged drying before extreme weather as a key driver in carbon-rich regions like Canada and the Amazon. In fuel-limited areas such as northwest Iberia, unusually wet conditions boosted vegetation growth before rapid drying occurred. Dr Francesca Di Giuseppe from ECMWF noted that enhanced vegetation followed by heat creates hydroclimatic rebound risks. The team combined satellite observations with weather models to assess these specific climate-linked patterns in fire drivers.
Future projections and actions
Fires similar to those in Europe could burn around one-third more area within the next twenty years. Dr Chantelle Burton from the Met Office stated that strong action to cut emissions can still avoid worse fires. The report warns climate change makes severe wildfires more likely, intense and damaging in many regions globally. Reducing anthropogenic emissions remains critical to limiting how large such destructive events could become in the future.
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