The scale of these Spain and France wildfires is strikingpublished at 22:16 BST
22:16 BST
Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor
July is the heart of the Mediterranean wildfire season, so the
fires in Spain and southern France are not in themselves unusually early. What
is striking is the scale already reached.
Spain has burned far more land than
at the same point last year, while France says significant fire activity began
several weeks earlier than usual and the area burned is already well above
normal.
Europe
is the fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global
average, and that rapid warming is making its summers hotter and, particularly
in the south, drier.
Those
conditions leave soil, trees and other vegetation with less moisture, creating
the fuel in which wildfires can take hold. A spark is still needed – most often
from human activity, usually accidental but sometimes deliberate, or from
lightning.
Once a
fire starts, extreme heat, dry vegetation and strong winds can help it spread
faster, burn more intensely and become much harder to control.
How forests and
landscapes are managed also matters: Accumulated vegetation and abandoned land
can provide more fuel for fires.
But the European Environment Agency has said
“climate change has increased forest fire risk across Europe”, with the
greatest danger expected in southern Europe.