Spain and France wildfires amplified by climate change

A new analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium finds that carbon‑driven global warming has made droughts and wildfire conditions about 20 times more likely in Spain and roughly twice as likely in France. Recent fires have devastated large areas – around 150,000 ha across Spain and 40,000 ha in France’s Gironde region – prompting mass evacuations of over 300,000 people. The blazes have released an estimated 17.98 million tonnes of CO₂ and driven particulate levels up to 20 times the normal limit, with poor air quality felt up to 400 km away. Julie Arrighi of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre warned that “what we are seeing now in Spain and France goes well beyond what we would expect from past events,” while Dr. Clair Barnes of Imperial College London called the findings “extremely scary.”