MADRID (AP) — Wildfires raging across Europe have killed hundreds of people over the last decade, and climate change is set to push the death toll even higher in the coming years.A wildfire in southern Spain killed at least 11 people overnight into Friday morning, making it one of the country’s deadliest on record, as soaring temperatures gripped much of the country.Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.Scientists warn that climate change caused in part by the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making certain regions more vulnerable to wildfires.Here’s a look at some of the last decade’s deadliest wildfires across Europe:
More than 100 died in Greece in 2018Greece’s deadliest wildfire was in 2018, when a massive blaze swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 people died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.In 2023, more than 20 people died in Greek wildfires, including 18 migrants who became trapped by the flames of what became Europe’s largest single recorded wildfire as they crossed through a forest in northeastern Greece. More recently, a wildfire in northern Greece killed a 12-year-old boy and his father last week.
