Overview

• EFFIS reports 1,016,425 hectares burned across the EU in 2025, the highest on record, with Spain at 377,234 hectares (37%) and Portugal at 260,358 hectares (25%), together surpassing 60% of the total.
• Scientists cite an unusually wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer and Spain’s most intense 16‑day heatwave on record as conditions that primed fuels and accelerated fire spread.
• The fires emitted an estimated 38.37 million tonnes of CO2 from January to August, which CAMS described as exceptional, and smoke drove significant PM2.5 pollution across Iberia and parts of France.
• At least eight people have died in Spain and more than 35,000 were evacuated in August, with damage recorded in protected and heritage areas such as Las Médulas and sections of Picos de Europa, and disruptions along the Camino de Santiago.
• Experts and civil society figures urge a cross‑party national pact on climate adaptation and the rapid creation of parliamentary commissions, pointing to record average size per large fire (6,282 hectares) and long‑term underinvestment in prevention compared with rising suppression costs.