Spain confronted one of its most destructive wildfire seasons in recent decades, with multiple blazes continuing to devastate parched woodlands despite a recent drop in temperatures across the Iberian Peninsula. The European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) reports that over 382,000 hectares—equivalent to more than twice the size of metropolitan London—have been incinerated this year, marking 2025 as potentially the worst fire season in three decades.

The northwestern region of Galicia has been particularly hard-hit, with nine active fires in Ourense province alone consuming 62,000 hectares, while a blaze in Jarilla, Extremadura, near Portugal, prompted the deployment of over 20 firefighting vehicles.

The Spanish government has escalated its response, with thousands of firefighters, supported by 1,900 soldiers from the Military Emergencies Unit and water-bombing aircraft, battling the flames. International aid has bolstered efforts, with German firefighting units arriving in northern Spain and two Dutch water-dumping planes joining French and Italian aircraft under EU cooperation agreements.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, set to visit Jarilla on August 19, announced a “state pact” to address the climate emergency, as 31,130 people have been evacuated in the past week. In Galicia, local residents have taken heroic measures, fighting fires alongside professionals, while authorities advise wearing face masks to combat smoke inhalation. The Spanish Civil Guard has detained 23 individuals for suspected arson, with 89 others under investigation, highlighting human activity as a significant trigger.

Neighboring Portugal faces a parallel crisis, with over 3,700 firefighters tackling four major blazes that have burned 235,000 hectares—nearly five times the 2006–2024 average—resulting in two deaths. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service notes that Europe’s warming, twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, has intensified heatwaves and drought, creating tinder-dry conditions that fuel rapid fire spread.

Despite AEMET forecasting lower temperatures in northwestern Spain starting August 19, the agency warns of persistent “very high or extreme” fire risk in Galicia, underscoring the ongoing threat posed by climate-driven wildfires across southern Europe.

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