The vast blazes ripping through southwestern France burned so intensely they created a powerful, fire-generated thunderstorm. This rare phenomenon is sometimes seen in the kinds of megafires that afflict the US and Canada, but was unprecedented in France, until now — and it’s just one sign that Europe is entering a new fire era, experts say.
Europe has always had wildfires, but they are becoming increasingly extreme as the climate crisis tightens its grip. Firefighters in France and Spain are currently trying to tame blazes more ferocious and more erratic than anything they’ve tackled before.
This follows from Europe’s record-breaking fire season last year, with experts saying the continent is joining a long list of regions — from Siberia to the Amazon — which now endure back-to-back extreme fire seasons.
“We have entered an era of fires that cannot be extinguished,” said Víctor Resco de Dios, lecturer of forestry engineering and global change at the University of Lleida in Spain. “These are fires that burn with the intensity of several atomic bombs.”
Wildfires in France have now scorched more than 116,000 hectares (roughly 290,000 acres), making them the largest on record for the country, and there are still months of wildfire season left.
