New Delhi:
Massive wildfires have ravaged parts of Western Europe in recent weeks, forcing more than three lakh people to flee their homes in France and Spain as soaring temperatures and strong winds fuel one of the continent’s worst fire seasons in years.
Large wildfires were advancing towards Madrid and the French city of Bordeaux on Tuesday, while authorities warned that another heatwave expected from Wednesday could make firefighting efforts even more difficult.
Spain Battles Deadly Wildfires
Toxic smoke and ash from three major wildfires in the Madrid region have drifted into the Spanish capital, prompting authorities to declare a national emergency.
Hundreds of firefighters, supported by military emergency brigades and water-bombing aircraft, are battling multiple blazes across the country.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said relentless overnight firefighting efforts had made him “reasonably positive”. However, emergency officials cautioned that crews have only a narrow window to contain the fires before another spell of extreme heat arrives.
Spain’s national weather service has warned that the country is heading into its fourth summer heatwave, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
The crisis has forced authorities to evacuate around 79,000 people, while another 30,000 residents have been asked to remain indoors. With at least 13 people killed, 2026 has already become one of Spain’s deadliest wildfire seasons in decades.
#Datafy | Maps and satellite images show how wildfires altered vast areas of Sicani mountain park in Sicily, Italy pic.twitter.com/W1wx6jZxup
— NDTV (@ndtv) July 29, 2026
“I’ve been living in San Martín de Valdeiglesias for 20 years. I never thought I would see such destruction,” Associated Press quoted evacuee Estella Costales, who is staying at a temporary shelter in Brunete near Madrid.
France Evacuates More Than Two Lakh People
France has witnessed even larger evacuations as wildfires continue to rage across the country’s southwest.
The blaze in the Gironde region has grown so large that its smoke plume has stretched nearly 430 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean. According to the Associated Press, the fire has scorched an area roughly four times the size of Paris and forced around 2.2 lakh people to evacuate.
Another 36,000 people have been evacuated from the neighbouring Landes region, while around 3,000 residents have been asked to leave their homes in Var. On Tuesday alone, authorities ordered about 4,000 people to evacuate the popular tourist town of Lacanau in Gironde.
French President Emmanuel Macron said more than 1.6 lakh hectares had already been destroyed by wildfires across the country. Of this, around 42,000 hectares have burned in Gironde and another 3,600 hectares in Landes.
Sicily Also Hit
Italy has also been battling major wildfires, particularly on the island of Sicily.
Satellite imagery shows vast stretches of the Sicani Mountain Park have been burned over the past 10 days.
Authorities suspect some of the fires may have been deliberately started. Investigators are examining reports that cats were released with flammable material tied to their tails to spread fires across vegetation.
“These animals were released into the fields, running around and spreading the fire,” Domenico Costarella of Calabria’s Civil Protection Agency told CNN.
