Overview

• The EU total reached 1,015,731 hectares by midday 21 August, exceeding the 2017 full‑year mark of 988,524 hectares.
• Spain has burned more than 400,000 hectares with four deaths, and Portugal about 274,000 hectares with three deaths.
• Spain, Cyprus, Germany and Slovakia have already set their highest annual burned‑area totals in two decades of EFFIS records.
• Fires emitted an estimated 35 megatonnes of CO2 in 22 EU countries from 1 January to 19 August, putting the 2017 annual record of 41 megatonnes within reach.
• EFFIS figures track only incidents of at least 30 hectares, and AFP counts a provisional 10 wildfire deaths across the EU this year.