Study links sharper southern Europe fire risk to climate change

Key points

• Researchers reported that summer weather favorable to wildfires in southern Europe has more than doubled since 1981.
• The study attributed the increase in fire-prone conditions to climate change, with particularly strong effects in France and Spain.
• France permitted 84,000 evacuees to return as the country’s largest wildfire since 1949 weakened.
• Spain ended its national emergency after fires near Madrid, the country’s largest since 1961, began coming under control.
• Three firefighters died in separate Greek fires, while authorities reported at least 115 fires in Turkiye.
• An extensive fire at Dunwich Heath in eastern England prompted evacuations and road closures.