The European Union will deploy a fleet of 22 firefighting planes, 5 helicopters, and 777 firefighters from 14 countries this summer, pre-positioned at strategic points, including two amphibious planes in Spain. The operation is part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and aims to respond to increasingly longer and more destructive fire seasons.
Crisis Management Commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, emphasized: “Every minute counts, being prepared saves lives, protects livelihoods, and preserves our environment”.
Coordination and Monitoring
Throughout the fire season, the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre will be operational 24/7, with experts on constant alert. Additionally:
- The European Forest Fire Information System will issue continuous forecasts.
- The EU’s satellite services, including Copernicus, will provide emergency maps and geospatial analysis to support on-ground decisions.
Main Causes of Megafires
- Climate Change: Europe is warming at twice the global average speed, creating extreme heat and drought conditions.
- Rural Abandonment: depopulation and the decline of traditional agriculture accumulate vegetative fuel.
- Human Origin: 96% of fires are linked to negligence or intentionally set.
Devastating Impacts
- Environmental Destruction: loss of forest mass and critical habitats.
- Carbon Emissions: millions of tons of CO₂ released, exacerbating climate change.
- Social Risk: massive evacuations and increasing threat to urbanized areas.
Summer of 2025: Historic Record
Last season was the worst on record:
- 1,080,000 hectares burned in the EU (2,240,000 including surrounding territories).
- 30 deaths, hundreds injured, and more than 100,000 evacuated.
- Spain and Portugal were the most affected, but countries like Germany, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom also suffered megafires.
- Record emissions: more than 38 million tons of CO₂ in the Mediterranean region.
Structural Consequences
- Soil Degradation: severe erosion and biodiversity loss.
- Paradigm Shift: fires are no longer exclusive Mediterranean phenomena; they affect higher latitudes and require responses beyond reactive extinction.
Responses and Preparedness
The EU has strengthened its strategy with:
- Pre-positioned firefighters in high-risk countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, France, and Cyprus.
- rescEU aerial reserve with centralized planes and helicopters to support Member States.
- Preventive regional bases, such as the station in Cyprus, to act quickly in vulnerable hotspots.
The fire crisis in Europe demands a comprehensive and preventive response. The EU’s deployment aims not only to extinguish fires but to anticipate them, protect communities, and preserve ecosystems.
Preparation and international cooperation are consolidated as the only way to face increasingly longer and more destructive seasons.
