Around 5.4 million hectares of land in the European Union have been affected by fires since mid-June. According to satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System, Effis, more than 1,000 fires were recorded during this period.
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Since the beginning of the year, the overall figure in the EU has reached nearly 6.47 million hectares burned. Fires that broke out between June 18 and September 2 accounted for around 80% of this area.
During this period alone, approximately 54,000 square kilometers were burned, an area around nine times larger than the surface area of Madrid.
This summer’s total is significantly higher than the average for the past two decades. However, the burned area remains below the record levels of 2025, when fires affected more than 8 million hectares, as well as below the record set in 2007. Effis data dates back to 2006.
July was the month in which the fires with the most severe consequences of the year were recorded, while the highest number of fire hotspots was registered in August.
During the week of July 16–22, fires burned around 1.9 million hectares. This is the highest figure recorded for that week in July since Effis began compiling harmonized weekly data, at least since 2006.
The area affected by fires during that week accounted for around 30% of all the territory burned in the EU since the beginning of the year.
During the same period, three exceptionally large fires broke out in succession, two of them in Spain and one in France.
On July 22, in the Spanish province of Ávila, near Madrid, a fire burned more than 420,000 hectares. That same day, another massive blaze in Gironde, near Bordeaux in France, destroyed around 370,000 hectares.
Another powerful fire affected Spain’s Huelva province in August, burning approximately 440,000 hectares.
According to Effis, four of the 15 largest fires recorded during the past decade occurred precisely in this season.
France had already exceeded its annual record for burned area by the end of July, surpassing the highest level recorded since record-keeping began.
For several weeks, Spain was also close to its record for this time of year. In mid-August, the burned area temporarily exceeded the record level before the figures began to fall again.
Greece, Portugal and Italy also faced numerous fire hotspots, as often happens during the summer season in southern Europe.
The fires did not affect only the southern part of the continent. Fires were also recorded in several northern European countries, including a historically large blaze in eastern Belgium. It burned tens of thousands of hectares and contributed to the national record for the area burned in a single year being broken for the first time since 2006.
Effis statistics include fires that have affected at least 300 hectares.
Because of differences in measurement methods, these figures may not match official data from national institutions. The estimates may also be revised after new satellite information becomes available.
According to experts, high temperatures and extreme drought, intensified by climate change, created conditions this summer that favored the spread of devastating fires across Europe.
