Published on: 2026-09-02
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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September 2, 2026 Climate and Environment
Most forest fires in Europe are caused by humans – either intentionally or accidentally. At the same time, the increase in the scale, spread speed, and intensity of the fires is largely determined by warmer and drier conditions related to climate change, as well as changes in land use.
While countries historically facing forest fires are witnessing an increase in frequency and scale, other states in traditionally cooler and wetter regions are also beginning to prepare for having to deal with more frequent fires.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, over 600 thousand hectares burned in the territory of the European Union countries during the first eight months of 2026. This is less than in the same period of 2025 – the worst year in the entire observation history – but significantly exceeds the average figure for the last 20 years, which is about 280 thousand hectares.
Although most major fires occur in countries traditionally prone to wildfires, such as France and Spain, extremely dry conditions increase risks in many areas of Western and Central Europe, including the British Isles and southern Scandinavia.
In the near future, the situation may be exacerbated by the consequences of the developing El Niño phenomenon — a periodically recurring natural climatic phenomenon that can affect temperature and precipitation patterns and increase the likelihood of extreme weather events.
Wildfires in Scotland’s forests
On July 15, 2026, a fire broke out in the mountains of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. Although wildfires had occurred in this area before, the exceptionally dry conditions this year allowed the fire to penetrate the dried-out peat layer, causing smoldering spots and new flare-ups that were difficult to contain.
More than 500 firefighters participated in extinguishing the fire. Aviation was used to fight the flames, and bulldozers created firebreaks. Nine days after the fire started, when strong winds began driving the unpredictable flames toward the village of Nettie Bridge, the Scottish police declared a state of emergency. Many of the approximately 600 residents were evacuated.
“Days after days without rain caused serious concern in Neti-Bridge. We were very lucky that the wind blew from the west and drove the fire towards the hills; otherwise, there would have been a serious threat to property and possibly lives. However, because of this, the fire spread to relatively hard-to-reach terrain, which significantly complicated its containment,” said village resident James McEwan.
It took more than a month for the official completion of the firefighters’ operations.
Preparing for the future
Will Hays, a wildfire researcher from the United Kingdom, notes that concern about fires is increasing.
“We see growing concern about wildfires beyond the Mediterranean, especially in the Atlantic highlands of Ireland and Scotland, as well as in some areas of Northern and Central Europe. These regions are not turning into Mediterranean landscapes; however, traditionally wetter and cooler areas are now increasingly experiencing periods when vegetation becomes dry enough to ignite, and fire can spread quickly,” he says.
According to the expert, it cannot be assumed that wet or green landscapes are protected from fires.
“During periods of dry, warm, and windy weather, vegetation can become extremely flammable even in northern and mountainous areas. During high-risk periods, it is necessary to avoid campfires and cooking over an open flame, prevent careless handling of ignition sources, and comply with local fire hazard warnings. It should be remembered that under suitable conditions, even a small fire can spread rapidly,” he emphasized.
Public Health Risk Assessment
Preparation for wildfires is important not only for firefighting services, Hayes says. According to him, fire prevention begins with landscape management even before fires ignite.
“The risk of forest fires should be viewed as a matter of land use, climate change adaptation, and public health, not just as an emergency response issue,” he noted.
According to Tanya Schmidt, an expert from the WHO European Regional Office, countries in the region increasingly use comprehensive national risk assessments to understand climate change-related threats, identify consequences, and determine priority measures to enhance preparedness. This helps protect populations and ensures the readiness of health systems to respond.
The WHO STAR (Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risks) methodology enables public health authorities, together with other sectors, to quickly conduct a strategic risk assessment based on factual data.
Cyprus and Ireland recently conducted such assessments for the first time. Experts identified priorities among the most serious health threats, including heat waves and wildfires. This created a foundation for more thoughtful investments in emergency preparedness and response. Since 2018, WHO has conducted 38 national workshops on strategic risk assessment in the European Region.
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