A punishing new wave of record-shattering heat has swept across large swathes of Western Europe this week, creating tinder-dry conditions that have ignited dozens of destructive wildfires stretching from southwestern France to coastal Croatia, overwhelming firefighting teams and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee their homes.
France, which is already enduring its driest calendar year on record, has been one of the hardest-hit regions. Overnight Thursday into Friday, a fast-moving wildfire tore through vast woodland areas in Landes, a coastal region in the country’s southwest. Local regional authorities confirmed Friday that the blaze forced more than 500 residents of the town of Luglon to evacuate their properties, as hundreds of firefighters were deployed to contain the spread. This blaze is just one of multiple major wildfires burning through forested land across France this week, with even normally cool, wet regions in northern France and Brittany seeing major outbreaks. Last month, a catastrophic, historic wildfire near the southwestern city of Bordeaux destroyed thousands of hectares of forest and displaced 250,000 people.
Across the English Channel, the United Kingdom recorded its hottest day of the year Thursday, with temperatures hitting 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in west London. That same heat fueled wildfires across the West Midlands of central England, where multiple residential properties were completely destroyed by flames. Simon Tuhill, chief fire officer for the region, described the outbreak as one of the most significant wildfire incidents the service has ever responded to. New data from the UK’s National Fire Chiefs Council shows 1,017 wildfires have broken out across England and Wales since the start of 2024.
The extreme heat has spread beyond France and the UK, devastating parts of Southern Europe as well. On the Croatian Adriatic coast, a wildfire fanned by strong gusts of wind erupted overnight Thursday near the coastal town of Omis, spreading rapidly toward the town center. The blaze forced more than 1,000 residents to evacuate, cut power to parts of Omis, destroyed dozens of vehicles, and even ignited fires on anchored boats, leading some evacuees to jump into the Adriatic Sea to escape. By early Friday, 36 people had sought medical treatment for fire-related injuries, 14 were admitted to hospitals, and seven remained in critical, life-threatening condition. Firefighters managed to contain the Omis blaze by Friday morning, but air crews were immediately dispatched further south to the Peljesac peninsula, where a second large wildfire broke out overnight.
Further east in northern Greece, a wildfire swept through a coastal pine forest Thursday, threatening residential and tourist properties. Authorities evacuated more than 300 vacationers and local residents by sea to safety.
Meteorologists across the continent recorded near-record temperatures Thursday, with parts of France ranging from southwestern Aquitaine to the eastern Rhone River valley hitting 41 degrees Celsius (106 Fahrenheit). Forecasters predicted temperatures would hold near those extreme levels Friday before cooling over the weekend. Climate scientists have repeatedly linked this type of extreme heat event across Europe to human-caused climate change, noting that many European nations, accustomed to long, cool winters and moderate summer temperatures, remain poorly equipped to handle prolonged extreme heat, with most residential and public buildings lacking air conditioning.