240,000 hectares have burned in the EU

The map shows: This is where it is burning right now

 

Beri Zangana 

Published 16:25Updated 17:31

Forest fires are already raging in several parts of Europe.

At the same time, a fourth heat wave is approaching.

“The whole of Europe could be in flames by August,” warns the EU’s Crisis Coordination Centre.

Around 350,000 people have been evacuated after fires in Spain and France. Tourists have been advised against traveling to affected areas and in the Madrid area almost 90,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.

The fires have been described as completely out of control.

So far, 254,000 hectares have burned across the EU, according to statistics. The figure is not far from the record year 2025 when 270,449 hectares had burned in the EU. The average for 2026 is significantly higher than previous years.

At the same time, a fourth heat wave is approaching and the risk of forest fires is increasing in Greece, Italy and Central Europe in the coming days.

– The whole of Europe could be on fire by the beginning of August if the current fires in Portugal and Spain have not been extinguished before then, says Maria Zuber, warns the EU's Crisis Response Coordination Center (ERCC), writes Sky News.

When Maria Zuber met the press in Brussels, she told reporters that 2026 could be the worst fire season in European history.

“Human factor behind”

There are fires in many places in Europe.

Around 6,000 firefighters have been fighting fires in Sicily, Italy, in recent days, using water cannons, among other things. On the mainland, at least 160 fires have broken out.

Italian authorities have pointed to the human factor as the reason for the fires, reports Deutsche Welle.

In recent weeks, Portugal has also been hit by the fires. In the district of Oleiros, fires raged and spread to nearby areas, Reuters reports. As a result, the Portuguese government issued a warning throughout the country. Among other things, a ban on burning was imposed and access to forests was also restricted, according to Reuters.

“Worst situation in the country”

Reports are coming from the Greek islands of forest fires in tourist paradises such as Crete and Greece’s second largest city Thessaloniki. Reports are coming that there may be more forest fires.

In the UK, the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland has been burning for twelve days, according to The Guardian. According to the newspaper, authorities have warned that the danger is far from over. The fire has been described as the worst fire in the Cairngorms. According to the newspaper, the damage will take “decades to repair”.

In France, over 160 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting forest fires. The fires have been described as the worst situation in the country since World War II.

The latest country to appear to have been affected is Turkey. There, there are reports of a fire in southwestern Turkey, where authorities have been forced to close a highway near a tourist resort, according to Sky News.

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned of the fires in several of the affected countries in its travel advice.

A fourth heat wave is expected to hit next week and in some parts of France, temperatures have reached above 40 degrees.