‘Extremely scary findings’ show climate crisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weather
A new World Weather Attribution study finds that climate change has made extreme hot, dry, and windy conditions in Spain up to twenty times more likely and in France twice as likely, intensifying recent wildfires. The research links the early‑season fires in Spain and France to a combination of a wet winter that grew vegetation and a subsequent hot, dry summer that turned it into fuel, while also noting severe smoke pollution spreading hundreds of kilometres. UN climate chief Simon Stiell warned that continued fossil‑fuel burning will further increase the danger and destructiveness of such megafires.
- ▪The World Weather Attribution consortium calculated that climate‑driven heating made hot, dry, windy weather at least twenty times more likely in Spain and twice as likely in France.
- ▪The July wildfires in Spain and France occurred early in the season, fueled by vegetation that grew during a wet winter and then dried out during a hot summer.
- ▪Smoke from the fires raised particulate pollution levels up to twenty times above fair air quality standards, affecting areas up to 400 km away.
- ▪UN climate chief Simon Stiell said that ongoing fossil‑fuel combustion is making such extreme heat and dry conditions more dangerous and the resulting megafires more deadly.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — Science |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/31/wildfires-extreme-weather-europe-spain-france-climate-crisis-analysis |
| Publication time | Fri, 31 Jul 2026 07:00:07 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-31T07:02:54.137Z |
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Emergency services in the Gironde department of France work to contain wildfires this week. Photograph: Mael Dubiez/SDIS33/EPAView image in fullscreenEmergency services in the Gironde department of France work to contain wildfires this week. Photograph: Mael Dubiez/SDIS33/EPAWildfires‘Extremely scary findings’ show climate crisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weatherLatest study says global heating has made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likelyDamian Carrington Environment editorFri 31 Jul 2026 03.00 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleThe extreme heat and drought stoking huge wildfires in Spain and France were made far more likely by the climate crisis, a scientific analysis has found.Global heating made hot, dry and windy weather at least 20 times…
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