Wildfire season 2025: Europe experiencing heatwaves and wildfires in the third hottest summer recorded
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In several European countries, extensive wildfires have been reported as heatwaves sweep across the continent. Temperatures exceeding 40°C (104°F) have been reported in many areas, and authorities are now warning of extreme fire risk in the coming days.
CBS News wrote on August 11 that Europe is in the middle of a punishing heatwave, with temperatures soaring past 109°F (43°C) in southern France and the Western Balkans. The hot conditions have ignited wildfires across multiple countries and prompted emergency weather alerts at the highest level.
From the vineyards of Aude in France to the forests along Bulgaria’s southern frontier, fires have swept through parched landscapes. Fires have also erupted near Montenegro’s capital and coastline, and in northwestern Turkey, while Hungary reported its hottest weekend on record.
Since late June, Spain, Portugal, and Greece have faced major fire outbreaks, with deadly consequences. The total area burned this summer has already exceeded seasonal norms, and the peak of fire season is still ahead.
In southern France, thousands of firefighters have battled a fire that broke out in Aude last week — described by French authorities as the largest fire to hit the country since World War II, according to SVT.se.
Since the fire began on Tuesday, it’s estimated to have consumed around 16,000 hectares of forest. Although it’s now considered under control, concerns remain that conditions could worsen — especially as temperatures in the area reached over 43°C (109°F) on Monday.
Due to the extreme heat, France’s weather agency Météo-France has issued red alerts in 12 of the country’s 101 departments, with another 41 under orange alert, according to France 24.
The fact that red alerts now cover more than a tenth of the country signals the severity of the risk, according to officials.
This level of warning has only been used eight times since its introduction in 2004,according to the Associated Press.
RTÉ News reports that wildfires erupted across Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, and the Balkans, with over 2,000 people evacuated from Tarifa in southern Spain and extreme heat warnings issued by AEMET, Spain’s meteorological agency.
Spain’s weather service Aemet has issued warnings for “extreme danger” in Zaragoza and the Basque Country.
- Al Jazeera reports that more than 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near the beaches of Tarifa in southern Spain, and additional evacuations occurred in the northwestern region of Castile and León, including areas near Las Médulas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- WTOP / Associated Press confirms that thousands of people were evacuated across Spain during the heatwave, including in Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia, and Galicia, with wildfires affecting over 1,000 hectares.
- MSN News also details evacuations in Tarifa, where 1,550 people were evacuated due to a fast-moving fire near La Peña and Casas de Porros.
Toddler died from heat stroke in Italy
Italy is also experiencing a heatwave expected to continue through the week. On Wednesday, temperatures in Florence are forecast to reach around 40°C, and in southern Italy, Mount Vesuvius has been closed to tourists after a wildfire broke out Friday and quickly spread across its slopes, according to The Guardian.
On Monday, authorities confirmed the death of a four-year-old boy from heatstroke on Sardinia. He had been found in the family’s car on Sardinia days earlier and had been hospitalized since.
Bulgaria on high heat alert
In Bulgaria, where temperatures were expected to exceed 40°C on Monday, officials issued the highest level of fire warnings in several regions after around 200 fires were reported.
According to measurements from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Service, July 2025 was the reportedly the third hottest July globally, just behind 2023 and 2024.
Photo Credit: Illustration about heatwaves in Europe. A marine heatwave is ongoing in the Mediterranean Sea. This data visualisation, based on Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) data, shows sea surface temperature anomalies recorded on 22 June 2025. Areas in dark red indicate temperatures more than 5°C above the seasonal average. The most intense warming was observed in the western Mediterranean basin, including the Balearic Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea. CMEMS delivers free, open-access marine data to support the monitoring of ocean health. Tracking SST anomalies is essential to better understanding climate change impacts, anticipating extreme weather events, and managing risks to marine biodiversity and coastal communities.
By Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=168492312