Ferocious wildfires continue to rage across parts of France and Spain, leading to deaths and the evacuation of 330,000 people. France has already surpassed its worst previous year for the size of the area burned, with August, typically the hottest month, still to come.
In Spain, the cumulative number of fires in 2026 has set a new record for this time of year. The cumulative burnt area in Spain remains just below the level reached by late July during a devastating fire season in 2022.
The extreme severity of the blazes is attributed to "whiplash" wet-then-dry weather this year, intensified by the climate crisis. Western Europe experienced a very wet winter and spring, which encouraged heavy vegetation growth, followed by a series of heatwaves that dried out plants and soil, creating tinder-dry conditions.
The current heatwave is the fourth of the European summer, with few signs of the wildfires abating. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has described the situation as the "toughest" the country has faced since the second world war.