A new European Union map has revealed the true scale of this summer's wildfires, showing that more than 1.2 million hectares of land burned across Europe and North Africa in July and August 2026 alone. The blazes caused widespread devastation and displacement, with the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy, Greece, the Balkans, Ukraine and Algeria all badly affected, in what is being described as one of the worst fire seasons on record.

The map, produced using European Forest Fire Information System data, tracks fires larger than 30 hectares, with nineteen blazes exceeding 10,000 hectares each. Separate research from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research warns the situation will worsen considerably, with the area burnt annually in Europe potentially rising by 193 per cent to 53,000 square kilometres under a high-emissions scenario by 2100, though scientists say improved fire management could cut this damage by up to 92 per cent depending on the level of warming.