Southern Europe fire-risk days more than doubled, study says

Southern Europe has more than twice as many summer days primed for extreme wildfire conditions as it had in earlier decades, according to a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports.

The study found extreme fire conditions occurred on fewer than 10 days per summer between 1981 and 2010, but reached up to 25 days between 2016 and 2025 in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

Scientists involved in the study said climate change drove the increase in fire-prone weather, especially in France and Spain, where recent blazes have been among the largest since records began.

Study co-author Raul Cordero, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Groningen, told AFP that the rise in days with an extreme fire weather index “can only be attributed to global warming.”

The study said there are fewer fires today than in the 1980s, but more extreme and fast-spreading infernos. It said firefighting investment, better-trained brigades and aerial resources helped reduce the number of fires, while also allowing fuel to build up for larger events.