As wildfires spread north, UN agencies race to help Europe adapt

As the climate warms, the threat of wildfires is spreading in Europe. How can historically cooler and wetter countries prepare?Human activity causes most of the wildfires breaking out across Europe, but their spread, speed and intensity are strongly affected by the warmer, drier conditions associated with climate change as well as with changing land use.More than 600,000 hectares of land have burned within European Union countries in the first eight months of 2026, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.That’s below the area recorded by the same date in 2025 (the worst year on record), but it far exceeds the 20-year average of around 280,000 hectares, and preparing for wildfires is key, UN agencies say.Risks are growingWhile most fires have occured in historically fire-prone countries such as France and Spain, extremely dry conditions are putting many areas in Western and Central Europe, including the UK and southern Scandinavia, at increased risk.In the immediate future, wildfire risks may be compounded by the developing El Niño, a recurrent natural climate phenomenon, which can further influence temperatures and rainfall patterns and increase the likelihood of c...