With record hectares burned and unprecedented CO2 emissions, EU countries are scrambling to fight the flames together through a coordinated civil protection force.

Fires have been ravaging large swathes of southern Europe this month, while a prolonged and intense heatwave pushed temperatures above 40°C across much of the Mediterranean and the Balkans.

The prolonged periods of scorching heat dried out vegetation, which in countries like Spain and Portugal had grown rapidly after a wet spring, allowing the fires to burn more intensely and spread farther.

Wildfires have so far ravaged more than 1 million hectares in the European Union in 2025, a record since statistics began in 2006, according to an AFP analysis based on estimates from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

Between January and August 19, forest fires in 22 of the 27 EU countries had already emitted 35 megatons of CO2, an unprecedented amount at this point in the year according to EFFIS.

To battle the fires, countries can request assistance under the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) designed to improve cooperation between EU countries and ten additional states to respond to disasters - such as natural or humanitarian disasters.

By mid-August, the UCPM had already been activated 16 times during the current fire season, which typically runs roughly from June to September. According to the European Commission, the number of activations for 2025 was already equal to the total for the 2024 fire season.

Southern Europe in flames

Most of southern Europe is still gripped by fires, and the UCPM is working at full speed to quench the flames. Here's how some countries have been fighting the fires so far.

Portugal

A fire in Piódăo in central Portugal, which started on August 13, kept on burning for eleven days and consumed more than 64,000 hectares of land, according to a report by the Portuguese National Institute for Nature and Forests Conservation. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. This year, over 250,000 hectares of land were destroyed by wildfires in Portugal.

On August 15, the Portuguese government activated the UCPM. After days of silence and lack of measures by Interior Minister Maria Lúcia Amaral, the opposition and the population accused the government of not taking the situation seriously. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has also been criticised by the opposition for acting late and presenting insufficient measures.

After its request for assistance, Portugal received two Fire Boss airplanes and one Super Puma helicopter from France and two Canadair airplanes from Greece, along with 20 firefighters from Estonia and 20 from Malta. They will be in the country until August 29.

Spain

Spain is struggling with numerous fires in the west of the country. Over 400,000 hectares have been burned so far this year with efforts to control the 40 (according to Monday data) still active fires progressing favourably thanks to improved weather conditions.

Spain triggered the UCPM on August 13, marking the first time that the country has ever requested help from other member states to battle forest fires.

Through what quickly became the biggest activation of the mechanism for the summer of 2025 - both in terms of countries involved and resources shared - Spain received planes, helicopters and ground teams from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, Romania, Greece and Estonia, some of which were already battling their own wildfires.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has pledged European support to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to help with recovery of the affected areas, suggesting that resources such as the European Solidarity Fund could be used in the aftermath of the fire season.

France

France was hit by the largest wildfire since 1949, which broke out at the beginning of the month in the municipality of Ribaute in the southern Occitania region and spread to 16,000 hectares. One woman died in the fire and 25 people were injured.

At times, more than 2,000 firefighters were deployed.

France has not activated the UCPM. However, the Slovak Fire and Rescue Corps (HaZZ) is deploying firefighters in the region since August 16 and until the 31st.

Albania

Fires in the EU candidate country Albania caused one death and burned hundreds of hectares of land and forests. Albania received assistance through the UCPM to deal with the fires.

On July 6, fires in the South of the country triggered the activation of the UCPM. To help, two Canadair aircraft from the rescEU escort were mobilised and helped to control the situation.

From August 8 to 14, Albania activated the UCPM again to deal with the wave of fires that also affected neighbouring countries. The European Commission mobilised rescEU with aircraft from Croatia, Bulgaria, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Greece

A total of 323 European firefighters are stationed in Greece this wildfire season, from July 1 to September 15, under the Pre-Positioning Program of the UCPM. Firefighters from Austria, Bulgaria, France, Moldova, Romania, and the Czech Republic are being deployed, with teams stationed in three locations across the country - Attica, Thessaloniki, and Patras.

According to available data, Greece has activated the Mechanism twice so far. On July 26, Italy responded by deploying two firefighting aircraft. On August 12, the UCPM confirmed the deployment of two Swedish rescEU aircraft, previously stationed in Bulgaria.

At the same time, Greece has responded to requests from other countries through the UCPM, deploying both aircraft and firefighters to Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Albania, and North Macedonia in response to large-scale wildfires. Additionally, under bilateral agreements, Greece has also provided firefighting support to Albania and North Macedonia.

Bulgaria

In an interview published by the daily newspaper Trud on August 19, Alexander Dzhartov, head of Bulgaria's Fire Safety and Population Protection Directorate General, reported that since the beginning of July, firefighters in Bulgaria have extinguished around 3,500 fires. Some of the fires required the use of helicopters and planes provided through the UCPM.

Bulgarian firefighters were also sent abroad. On July 9, the Foreign Ministry said that a team with a fire engine was actively working to contain a blaze in Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia. Another team of Bulgarian firefighters with two engines was dispatched on July 2 to Vourvourou, in the Chalkidiki peninsula of northern Greece.

Awareness and training are key

In order to prepare citizens and firefighters alike for the new reality of more frequent wildfires, it is crucial to raise awareness among the population of how to stay safe and to equip firefighters with the necessary knowledge and tools.

The European Commission has said that the world broke its own temperature record last year. The average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, making 2024 the hottest year to date. One dire consequence of the record-high temperatures is the increased risk of wildfires.

A measure that Bulgaria employs is to have additional crews mobilised on high-risk days, especially weekends, when more people are outdoors. Despite negligence being a leading cause, public engagement in fire prevention and suppression is growing. Forestry services, the armed forces, municipalities, farmers, businesses, and volunteers are increasingly active in helping firefighters.

After the largest fire in Slovenian history in 2022 devastated the western part of Slovenia on the border with Italy, the country actively started to strengthen its firefighting capabilities, also with the help of European funds.

In March, during a visit by the European Commissioner for Budget, Piotr Serafin, the Slovenian Centre for Fighting Large Fires in the Natural Environment was officially opened in the town of Sežana. Firefighters are trained there according to a special program adapted for protection and rescue, and it is also equipped with modern equipment for responding to natural disasters.

Last but not least, technology with state-of-the-art (early) warning systems are also vital to identifying new fires before they are beyond control.

At the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct located about thirty kilometers from Nîmes in France and visited by more than a million tourists each year, more than 120 small satellite-connected boxes, equipped with sensors measuring atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity, have just been installed earlier this month.

Developed by the German company Dryad, they are the first phase of a project designed to help firefighters better anticipate forest fires. Easily attached to tree trunks a few metres above the ground, they detect air quality and the presence of carbon monoxide or particulate matter in the air, within a radius of 200 meters.

At the end of the testing phase, 'between 10,000 and 13,000' sensors will be installed and ready for use by early summer 2026, said Lieutenant Colonel Eric Agrinier, head of communications for the Gard region's fire department.

Fact check: Heat records of more than 40°C in southern Europe

Social media users have been casting doubt on the extreme heatwave in Europe this month, claiming that thermometers have been showing higher temperatures more and more frequently over the years.

For example, on Facebook it was claimed that, by 5 p.m. on August 13, no temperatures of 40 degrees or more had been recorded anywhere in Europe. However, measurements show that temperatures above 40 degrees have been recorded in several regions.

The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, AMNA, ANSA, ATA, BTA, dpa, EFE, Lusa, STA, TASR, as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project. AGERPRES (editing by: Simona Klodnischi)