Carbon emissions from Europe's summer wildfires highest in 15 years

Spain was the worst-hit country last year, with nearly 500 blazes

A Galician firefighter tackles flames during a prolonged period of drought and unusually high temperatures, in Asturias, Spain, in March. Reuters

Carbon emissions from summer wildfires in Europe were the highest in 15 years last year, with some countries seeing the highest emissions in 20 years, a new climate change report has warned.

The sixth annual European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report, published on Thursday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), reveals low rainfall and high temperatures led to widespread droughts across the continent, which in turn helped create a perfect storm for wildfires.

Last month 1,500 people were forced to flee their homes in Spain after it suffered the first major forest fire of the year.

In 2022, which was a particularly bad year for wildfires in Europe, Spain was the worst-hit country with nearly 500 blazes that destroyed more than 300,000 hectares.

The C3S report has warned that a lack of rainfall in winter and spring this year has already led to a lack of moisture in the ground which is likely to affect crop production.

“For Europe as a whole, above-average fire danger conditions were seen throughout most of 2022,” the report says.

“Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) scientists' monitoring of wildfires around the world tracked significant increases in wildfire carbon emissions for some European regions in summer 2022, following the hot and dry conditions.

“The total estimated emissions across the EU countries for summer 2022 were the highest since 2007. France, Spain, Germany and Slovenia also experienced their highest summer wildfire emissions for at least the last 20 years, with south-western Europe seeing some of the largest fires on record in Europe.”

The report says Europe experienced its hottest summer and second warmest year on record last year.

It revealed temperatures are rising in Europe at twice the global average rate — faster than any other continent.

Earlier this year Alpine ski resorts were forced to close due to a lack of winter snow.

During the winter of 2021-2022, much of Europe experienced fewer snow days than average, with many areas seeing up to 30 fewer days.