More than 250,000 hectares ablaze: Europe on the brink of its worst fire season ever
Viral photo from France becomes symbol of climate apathy as UN warns of catastrophic consequences and misinformation spreads on social media
Viral photo from France becomes symbol of climate apathy as UN warns of catastrophic consequences and misinformation spreads on social media
Europe is on the verge of its most devastating wildfire season since records began. According to data from the European Union's Earth observation program Copernicus, more than 250,000 hectares of land have burned across the continent so far, roughly equivalent to the size of Luxembourg. Meanwhile, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), warns that climate catastrophe alerts are coming from all directions, as reported by Azernews.
Spain is the EU country that has suffered the most damage relative to its area. More than 200,000 hectares, or about 0.4 percent of the country's territory, have already burned, reports Narodno.hr citing the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). The situation is particularly dramatic around Madrid and Ávila, where more than 90,000 people have been evacuated. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has warned that the country faces "difficult hours ahead."
Portugal records the second largest share of burned territory in the Union, at about 0.3 percent of its total area. All districts in the northern and central parts of the country, as well as the southern district of Faro in the Algarve, have been placed on the highest state of alert. However, some non-EU countries, including Ukraine and Montenegro, have also suffered severe consequences.
In France, about 260,000 people have had to leave their homes, with the southwestern department of Gironde suffering the most damage. According to data reported by Tagesschau, the area affected by fires in France this year is five times larger than the long-term average, while in Spain it is double the average.
The number of fires in 2026 significantly exceeds usual figures. Azernews cites 1,254 recorded fires since the start of the year, while Narodno.hr, citing EFFIS, reports about 1,200 fires. The long-term annual average is 569 fires, meaning this year's number has more than doubled. In total, more than 330,000 people have been evacuated across Europe.
Experts warn that this year's season could easily surpass the record set in 2025, when more than 270,000 hectares burned. In addition to enormous material damage, the fires have serious environmental consequences. Copernicus estimates that more than eight million tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) have already been released into the atmosphere during 2026. By comparison, the average European produces about 5.5 tons of CO₂ over the entire year, emphasizes Narodno.hr.
Amid the disaster, one photograph has become a global symbol of the moment. It was taken by Maximilien Lamy, a photo editor at the AFP agency, on July 24, 2026, at the beach of Lake Lacanau in southwestern France. The image shows a couple of bathers sitting on striped deck chairs under a colorful umbrella, while in the background a huge column of smoke rises, painting the sky an orange glow. Lamy captured the photo with his phone while on vacation with his family, not expecting it to go viral within hours.
"I didn't think it would reach such proportions. I am completely stunned," Lamy told AFP, as reported by Brazilian portal G1 Globo. Although some social media users claimed the photo was AI-generated, Lamy confirmed it is authentic and that only the edges were slightly cropped. "It's simply a symbol of the times," he added.
French newspaper Le Figaro described the scene as an "allegory" in which "the disaster takes up almost the entire image, yet somehow seems pushed into the background." Lamy, who has worked for AFP for more than 20 years, does not want to condemn the people in the photo. "I don't want to blame them. No one knows what they were really thinking," he said.
As firefighters continue to battle the flames, numerous false claims about the fires are circulating on social media. The German public broadcaster ARD, in its Faktenfinder section, which was reported by Tagesschau, analyzed several of the most widespread pieces of misinformation. One involves a video allegedly showing a person on a quad bike deliberately starting a forest fire to create fear of climate change. However, it is actually a recording from 2025 showing a firefighter setting up a firebreak, a common tactic to stop the spread of fire.
Another common misconception concerns the interpretation of fire emissions statistics. While it is true that Copernicus data show a global decrease in total biomass emissions, senior scientist at the institution Mark Parrington explains that this decrease is primarily attributed to a reduction in fires in tropical savannas and grasslands, linked to less use of fire for clearing and agriculture in those regions. At the same time, the same report states that annual fire emissions in the European Union reached nearly 13 megatons of carbon, the highest ever measured, reports Tagesschau.
Social media users also frequently repeat the claim that heat cannot cause wildfires because wood needs about 300 degrees Celsius to ignite. Meteorologist Jörg Kachelmann calls this an "obsessive misinformation." While extreme temperatures indeed cannot directly ignite wood, scientists explain that they create conditions for easier ignition and faster fire spread when combined with prolonged drought. "Fire needs flammable material and something to ignite it, for example lightning or, in most cases, human carelessness," explains Jakob Zscheischler from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, as quoted by Tagesschau.
Johann Georg Goldammer from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the University of Freiburg adds, "Because of increased evaporation, vegetation dries out more quickly, especially if a period of low precipitation before the heatwave has weakened living vegetation and made it more prone to burning."
Copernicus warns that below-average rainfall is expected during this week, especially in the area stretching from France across the Alps to the Balkans, where the precipitation deficit will be most pronounced. On the other hand, above-average rainfall is expected in Scandinavia. If weather conditions do not change, fire services across Europe expect another extremely challenging continuation of the summer season.
