Burning records in Spain and Portugal

A record is a million hectares – equal to about half of the land area of ​​Wales – this year has been burnt in the European Union so far, causing the worst forest fire season since the records started in 2006.

According to scientists from the European Union, Spain and Portugal have been particularly difficult to hit, about 1% of the entire Iberian peninsula.

The deteriorating fire season in the Mediterranean is directly related to climate change in a separate study by the World Weather Atribution Group at Imperial College London.

Experts have warned that more frequent and serious fire in the whole of Europe is likely to continue in the future.

More than two -thirds of the area burnt in the European Union are alone in Spain and Portugal.

In Spain, more than 400,000 hectares of hectares have been burnt from the beginning of this year to 26 August, according to the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

This record is more than six times the Spanish average for this time period between 2006 and 2024.

Neighbor Portugal has also faced a record burn area of ​​270,000 hectares so far – an average of about five times for the same period.

This year the combined burn area in the Iberian peninsula is 684,000 hectares – from four times Greater London, and most of them were burnt in just two weeks.

The fire is concentrated in the forest areas of northern Portugal and in the northwestern areas of Spain in Gallicia, Esturias and Castill and Leon.

Protected areas such as Picos de Europa National Park have been affected, as well as the major routes on Camino de Santiago pilgrimage networks that usually attract more than 100,000 visitors in the summer months.

Events have triggered Biggest known yield Fire strength of the European Union’s civil security system.

Smoke from the fire dramatically decreased air quality in the area, in which France and UK are sending air to the smoke.

Climate change is more likely to wildfire, but in a vicious cycle, the fire also releases more planetary-wise carbon dioxide gas (CO2) in our atmosphere.

According to the European Union, the CO2 record released by fire in Spain this year has reached 17.68 million tonnes. This exceeds any total annual CO2 emissions from the wildfire in the country since 2003, when the data was first recorded by satellites.

For comparison, it exceeds the total annual CO2 emitted by all of Croatia in 2023.

Firefighting is struggling with blaze This summer across Europe.

According to a rapid atribution study by the World Weather Atribution Group at Imperial College London, climate change caused by humans to make the fire position in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus about 10 times more likely.

The WWA said that the extreme weather conditions behind the fire were responsible for an increase of 22%.

It is causing more extreme heat, which dries vegetation, enhances flammability, theodore keeping, center for environmental policy, wildfire scientist at Imperial College London.

Constant burning of fossil fuel will lead to more and more fire in these extreme fire, warning researchers.

“It was necessary 10 years ago to stop burn fossil fuels,” Dr. Freddy Otto said, “Professor in Climate at Imperial and the leader of WWA described it as” fatal to people and ecosystems “.

“Today, with 1.3C warming [since pre-industrial times]We are seeing new extremes in the behavior of forest fire, who have pushed firefighters to their limits, “said Mr. Keeping.

Scientists have started rapid analysis on wildfires in Spain and Portugal and expected similar conclusions related to climate change.

Across southern and Eastern Europe, rural depression is also contributing to intensive wildfire, MR Keeping added.

In areas such as Spain and Portugal, the increasing number of young people is transferring to cities in search of more profitable employment. Once managed agricultural land is being abandoned and overgrowth, the breakdown of the fire is eliminated and increases the amount of spicy vegetation for acute blasts.

Fire has always been an important component of the Mediterranean ecosystem and most of the natural wildlife exists along with fire.

In fact, species such as Iberian Hare benefit from the newly opened habitat and the native cork oak can quickly collect the burnt land.

Management techniques such as prescribed burning and vegetation removal have long stopped annual fire.

And the rebirth of burnt vegetation has usually offered carbon emissions from forest fire as carbon has once again been stored in plants and soils.

However, modern wildfires are large, more frequent and more severe. While forest areas struggle to be organized again before the next fire, they were Associate Professor in Environmental Geography at London School of Economics. According to Thomas Smith, a climatic reaction can become part of the loop.

“A warming climate is running more frequent and large fire, running carbon emissions that remain in the atmosphere, leading to a warm climate,” he explained.

Risk risk from a warm and dry climate makes fire management more difficult and a threat to long -term ecosystem stability.

According to Professor Stephen Dor, director of the Center for Wildlife Research at Swansi University, there are also risks of quick soil erosion and water contamination from the ash washed in rivers and reservoirs.

Attempts to manage additional vegetation in fire-risked areas, as well as progress in preventing ignition, fire detection and fighting fire fighting can help reduce the fire of numbers and severity in future.