SLF forest fire expert Julia Miller joins us for an interview to explain why so many forests in Europe are burning, why the situation is not going to improve - and why such extreme events will become more frequent in the coming decades.
Spain, France, Croatia, Germany. Europe’s forests and fields are burning. Ms. Miller, what’s causing this?
It’s due to a specific weather pattern we’ve been observing since the beginning of the year. We had heavy rainfall in January and February in Spain and France, while in the Alps we had a pronounced lack of snow and drought conditions. Then we had a severe heatwave in May, which followed a growing season. The second heatwave then hit in mid- to late June, which is why the vegetation is now severely parched and we’re seeing an increase in forest fires across several regions of Europe.
Will this continue in the coming weeks and months?
We can assume so. The forest fire season started early, and with August being the warmest month, we’re now heading into peak season, while we can expect September and October to bring more dry months that are conducive to fires.
Is 2026 an exceptional year? Or will this kind of situation become the norm in the coming decades?
2026 is definitely an exceptional year that we can highlight in our weather records. Several records were broken. However, when we look at climate projections, we see very clearly that extreme events such as droughts, heatwaves and forest fires will increase as the Earth warms.
What can be done about it?
First and foremost, we need to take more preventive measures. However, the most effective approach is to combat climate change and limit global warming as much as possible.