Extreme fire weather conditions in Spain and Portugal now common due to climate change

The 2025 fire season in Spain and Portugal saw extreme burned areas, with Spain experiencing its worst fires in 30 years and Portugal burning 260,000 ha. These events coincided with the most intense heatwave on record in Spain. Analysis indicates that a 1.3°C increase in global temperatures since preindustrial times has made these extreme fire-conducive weather conditions approximately 40 times more likely, transforming an event that would have occurred once every 500 years into one expected every 15 years.

• In 2025, Spain and Portugal experienced severe wildfires that consumed 640,000 hectares, representing approximately 1% of the Iberian Peninsula's surface. Spain's burned area was four times the annual average of the previous two decades, while Portugal's burned area of 260,000 ha was nearly five times its average for that time of year.
• The 2025 fires occurred during a record-breaking 16-day heatwave in Spain (3rd–18th August) with a positive anomaly of 4.6 °C, the most intense on record. This heatwave created atmospheric conditions that dried out vegetation rapidly, providing significant fuel for the fires.
• Climate change, specifically a 1.3°C warming since preindustrial times, has significantly increased the probability and intensity of the meteorological conditions that drove the 2025 wildfires. These conditions are now expected every 15 years, compared to less than once every 500 years in a 1.3°C cooler climate, representing a 40-fold increase in likelihood and a 30% increase in intensity.
• Maximum 10-day temperatures during the fire period are now expected every 13 years due to warming. Without human-induced atmospheric warming, such temperatures would have been extremely rare, occurring less than once every 2,500 years, and would have been 3°C cooler.
• Beyond climate drivers, rural depopulation and an ageing population in Spain and Portugal have contributed to the severity of the fires by leaving forest land unmanaged and reducing natural vegetation control from traditional grazing, leading to dense fuel loads.

APA

World Weather Attribution (2025). Extreme fire weather conditions in Spain and Portugal now common due to climate change. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-fire-weather-conditions-in-spain-and-portugal-now-common-due-to-climate-change/

Chicago

World Weather Attribution. Extreme fire weather conditions in Spain and Portugal now common due to climate change. 2025. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-fire-weather-conditions-in-spain-and-portugal-now-common-due-to-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Weather Attribution |title=Extreme fire weather conditions in Spain and Portugal now common due to climate change |date=4 September 2025 |url=https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-fire-weather-conditions-in-spain-and-portugal-now-common-due-to-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldweatherattribution2025extreme, author = {{World Weather Attribution}}, title = {{Extreme fire weather conditions in Spain and Portugal now common due to climate change}}, institution = {World Weather Attribution}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-fire-weather-conditions-in-spain-and-portugal-now-common-due-to-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }