Despite a decline in temperatures around the Iberian Peninsula, Spain faced a number of significant wildfires on Tuesday in one of the most catastrophic fire seasons in recent decades.
In northwestern Spain, where the country's weather agency AEMET reported a still "very high or extreme" fire risk — especially in the Galicia region — thousands of firefighters, assisted by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft, continued to battle fires tearing through parched woodland.
Small, sparsely inhabited communities in Galicia have been devastated by the flames, and residents have frequently had to intervene before firemen can arrive.
According to Spain's Interior Ministry, German firefighting units arrived in northern Spain on Tuesday to assist in battling the fires. According to the government, more than 20 trucks were sent in to assist in battling an ongoing fire in Jarilla, which is located in the Portuguese-bordering Extremadura province.
Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, visited the region on Tuesday and discussed how the fires have been fed by the recent record temperatures.
Science and common sense both indicate that the climate is changing and that the climate emergency is growing more frequent and more significant, according to Sánchez. This is especially true for farmers, ranchers, and those living in rural regions.
Land management has also been a factor in Galicia; Adrian Regos, an ecologist at the Biological Mission of Galicia, a research institute, noted that the accumulation of wildfire fuel was caused by vast areas of unmanaged vegetation and abandoned communities in forested areas.
According to the European Union's European Forest Fire Information System, the fires in Spain have burned over 382,000 hectares, or around 1,475 square miles, and have claimed four lives so far this year. Compared to urban Londo, that surface area is more than twice as large.
Human action has been the cause of numerous fires. Spain's Civil Guard announced Tuesday that police have arrested 23 persons for suspected arson and are looking into 89 more.
Over 3,700 firemen were fighting fires in Portugal, including four large ones in the country's north and center.
According to EFFIS, wildfires there have burned over 235,000 hectares, or 907 square miles, which is almost five times more than the average for the years 2006–2024. There have been two fatalities.
Since the 1980s, Europe has warmed twice as quickly as the rest of the world, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. According to scientists, climate change is making portions of Europe more susceptible to wildfires by increasing the frequency and severity of heat waves and dry spells.
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