02/06/2026
🔥 Today, the European Commission has announced its largest ever wildfire response for the 2026 summer season — 777 firefighters, 22 aircraft and 5 helicopters pre-positioned across six high-risk countries under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The scale of the response reflects a worsening trend. According to EFFIS data, 2025 was the most severe wildfire season ever documented in the EU, with over 1 million hectares burned across 25 Member States — nearly double the 2006–2024 annual average. Fire-prone areas such as the Mediterranean now face extreme, prolonged fire seasons, while regions such as north-west Europe, previously less affected, are also experiencing more frequent and intense wildfires.
The EEA tracks these trends as part of its broader work on climate change impacts and adaptation. Between 2000 and 2024, an average of 3,770 km² of land burned annually across EEA member countries, with climate change, urban expansion and land abandonment all increasing the occurrence of fire-prone conditions.
Operational response matters, but so does prevention. A 2025 EEA briefing examined how nature-based solutions — including forest diversification, prescribed burning and fire breaks — can reduce risk and build long-term climate resilience across Europe's forests.
🔗 Read the EEA briefing on nature-based solutions for fire-resilient forests: https://lnkd.in/gfBvGsZV