Why Europe’s wildfires are getting bigger, hotter and harder to stop

Climate whiplash and fire clouds

Wildfires have a natural role in the environment, clearing away dead leaves and branches and dense undergrowth from the forest floor, so nutrients in the soil are unlocked and new plants can grow. The spark to light the fire can be natural or human activity-related. The problem begins when the fire spreads uncontrollably, due to factors like a climate whiplash.

European countries most at risk from fires. (Map courtesy: EU’s Joint Research Centre)

Climate whiplash refers to rapid swings between weather extremes. In western Europe, an unusually wet period earlier this year encouraged the explosive growth of grasses, shrubs and undergrowth. That vegetation then dried out under successive heatwaves and drought, becoming abundant fuel waiting for a spark. Researchers say this sequence, of unusually wet conditions followed by intense drying, is becoming more common as climate change intensifies both ends of the weather spectrum. The California wildfires last year were also fuelled by this weather sequence.

But weather alone does not explain why some fires have become almost impossible to stop.

One of the most striking features of this year’s Europe fires has been the appearance of pyrocumulonimbus clouds, often shortened to pyroCb or “fire clouds”, which can generate thunderstorms that further enhance the fire.

A large wildfire releases enormous amounts of heat. The hot air, along with smoke, ash and moisture from burning vegetation, rises rapidly into the atmosphere. As it climbs, the air expands and cools. Eventually, the moisture condenses around tiny smoke particles to form a towering cloud. If the fire is intense enough, that cloud can grow into a full-fledged thunderstorm, reaching 10-15 km into the atmosphere and even penetrating the stratosphere.

Inside the cloud, collisions between ice crystals, water droplets and ash generate electrical charges that produce lightning. Those lightning strikes can ignite new fires kilometres away from the original blaze. The storms also generate powerful, erratic winds that can suddenly change the direction or speed of a fire, trapping firefighters and residents. In extreme cases, a wildfire effectively begins creating its own weather.

Diego Ferraz Castiñeiras, a climate and environmental communicator and European Climate Pact Ambassador (a European Union initiative), told The Indian Express, “Extreme heatwaves and prolonged droughts, intensified by climate change, are creating conditions that can favour sixth-generation wildfires. These are extremely intense events that destroy biodiversity, release vast quantities of carbon dioxide and, in turn, contribute further to global warming.”

Europe’s wildfires: Causes beyond climate change

While climate change is a major culprit, another reason for the devastating fires is the changing land use pattern in Europe.

Over the past several decades, Europe’s countryside has undergone a transformation. Farms have been abandoned, livestock grazing has declined and many rural residents have moved to cities. The result is that large areas once kept open through agriculture and grazing are now covered with dense shrubs, young trees and dry vegetation. This creates a continuous layer of combustible fuel, allowing fires to spread farther and faster than they once did.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says in a 2023 report points out that land abandonment facilitates vegetation encroachment and fuel accumulation. “Over the past century, land abandonment in the Mediterranean region has been associated with significant fuel build-up, which has contributed to an increase in wildfire risk in the region,” it says.

Consequences of Europe’s wildfires

The wildfires have an economic as well as an environmental cost, as smoke impacts air quality for thousands of kilometres. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said in a July 30 report, “Wildfires threaten lives, destroy homes, infrastructure and livelihoods, and force entire communities to evacuate… In the European Union alone, wildfires are estimated to cost around EUR 2.5 billion every year, through damage to infrastructure, loss of tourism revenue and disruption of economic activity… Long after the flames are extinguished, communities continue to face the costs of ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, reduced agricultural productivity, public health impacts and the expensive restoration of damaged landscapes.”

And while Europe is getting better at tackling the blaze, experts say that is not enough.

Fernando Medina, a researcher at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, said in a statement released to the media, “Over the past decades, we have become much better at fighting wildfires and, in fact, the overall number of fires has declined. However, those that escape initial suppression now develop with unprecedented intensity and speed. This requires a fundamental shift in emergency management. It is no longer enough to focus solely on suppressing the fire; protecting people must become the central objective. Risk communication, public preparedness and timely evacuation are now just as important as firefighting capacity.”

Castiñeiras also said protecting ecosystems requires much more than “simply suppressing” fires once they start. “We urgently need to adapt to this climate reality by actively managing our agroforestry landscapes, addressing rural abandonment and building more diverse and resilient ecosystems,” he said.

Bar graph courtesy: Forest Survey of India/fsiforestfire.gov.in

Wildfires in India

India, too, faces a growing wildfire risk. Forest fires are a regular feature of the country’s dry season, with the Forest Survey of India detecting thousands of fire incidents every year. Long-term analyses show the highest fire proneness is in parts of the Northeast, along with pockets of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and central and southern India, while Himalayan states such as Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh battle severe summer fires.

Unlike many European wildfires, which are often triggered by lightning, a majority of forest fires in India are linked to human activity, whether through agricultural burning, collection of forest produce, or accidental ignitions.