Below you can find recent data on the wildfire situation in the EU.
The data are sourced from the European Forest Fires Information System (EFFIS) of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, which is implemented by the JRC. All data from EFFIS and presented here refers to fires larger than 30 hectares and that include, at least partially, a forested area.
During summer the data on this page are updated every Wednesday (as soon they are produced).
Wildfire situation in the EU - updated on 8 July 2026
Evolution of burnt areas in the EU
The graph shows that the area affected by fires has reached 155 569 hectares during 2026.
Although this wildfire season has, up to this date, fewer burned areas than in 2025 (the worst year on record) it is still above the average of the last 20 years (2006-2025).
Fire danger forecast
Very extreme conditions dominate a large area of western and central Europe, with the heaviest concentration across France, Spain and northern Portugal, the Alpine arc extending into northern Italy, the south of the UK and southeast Ireland.
Extreme conditions extend into southern Portugal and southern and central Spain, parts of the British Isles, and the western Balkans.
Very high danger covers the remaining parts of the UK and central Ireland, southern Scandinavia, and parts of Türkiye.
High to moderate danger is forecast for scattered areas across central-eastern Europe and further into Türkiye. Eastern Europe, northern Scandinavia, and Russia remain at low fire danger.
Weather forecast for the week of 13 July to 19 July
Temperature anomaliesThe strongest warm anomaly remains visible over western and central Europe and is most intense across France and the areas bordering the Alps, extending into the British Isles and Spain. Southern Scandinavia and parts of northern Africa face moderate positive anomalies. A cold anomaly sits over Portugal and eastern Europe, with additional cold patches over the Middle East.
Rainfall anomaliesThe strongest below-average rainfall signal covers western Europe and the British Isles, with a pronounced anomaly over the North Sea region and northern-central Europe. Below-average rainfall extends across much of central and southern Europe. Above-average rainfall is forecast for eastern Europe and Russia.
About these data
Fires mapped in EFFIS and presented here are approximately 30 hectares or larger and may include fires set intentionally for the purpose of vegetation management.
Note that this data might differ from that reported by national monitoring systems due to the use of different methodologies (e.g. differences in the size of the fires mapped or how a wildfire is categorised).
More on EFFIS' methods and data
• EFFIS burned areas are manually mapped by trained analysts. Analysts inspect satellite imagery and delineate the boundaries of the wildfires, using several ancillary data sources to support the process. The satellite imagery used in this process includes images from several sensors (e.g. MODIS, VIIRS, Sentinel-2). Fire perimeters are updated and refined when more recent or higher resolution imagery is available. These updates can take place up to 8 times per day. Due to challenging conditions such as cloud cover and smoke, some images may not be suitable for mapping. This may result in a delayed mapping of some fires. In the final EFFIS records, every single fire perimeter is mapped with a good quality high-resolution satellite image (e.g. Sentinel-2).
• While thermal anomalies are supporting data sources in the mapping process, they are not the primary data source. Hot spots from thermal sensors (e.g. MODIS, VIIRS, Sentinel-3) help locate and prioritise the areas where to search for active wildfires. However, EFFIS' mapping of burnt areas is based on optical imagery (e.g. MODIS, VIIRS, Sentinel-2). Visual interpretation of optical imagery ensures that non-fire heat sources, such as photovoltaic installations, are not mistakenly mapped as burned areas.
• Very small fires may be below EFFIS' detection threshold, but these small events account for only a small fraction of total burned area. Due to satellite resolution limits EFFIS cannot detect very small fires. However, their omission does not significantly affect the overall burned-area figures. The areas mapped in EFFIS represent about 95% of the total area that burns in the EU every year.
• EFFIS mapping process captures unburned islands within the perimeter of the wildfires. The final delineation of wildfire perimeters uses Sentinel-2 imagery at 20 metres resolution. This resolution allows a detailed delineation of burned areas and the identification of unburned patches within fire perimeters. While very small patches may not be detected, most significant unburned islands are excluded from the burned-area totals.
• EFFIS includes prescribed and controlled burns. These fires are intentionally mapped because they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and, in some cases, can become uncontrolled. While some national datasets may identify them as prescribed burns, such information is not consistently available across Europe, limiting EFFIS' ability to systematically flag or exclude them.