Madrid, Aug 22 (IANS) — The raging wildfires devastating Spain this summer should serve as a wake-up call for the rest of Europe, highlighting the growing dangers of climate change, a leading climatologist has warned.
Javier Martin-Vide, professor of physical geography at the University of Barcelona, said the fires are not just a national crisis but a signal for countries long accustomed to milder summers. “This is a warning to countries that have traditionally enjoyed temperate, cool summers… because these conditions of intense heat will move northward and affect them too,” he told Xinhua.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, 403,171 hectares of land have burned in Spain so far this year, with nearly 350,000 lost in just the last two weeks amid a searing heat wave.
Martin-Vide stressed that climate models indicate worsening conditions in the coming decades. “Adaptation is key to reducing the risk,” he said, warning that temperatures above 40°C in central and northern Europe could bring serious challenges to regions unaccustomed to extreme heat.
He pointed to rural depopulation as a major factor fueling the crisis. “The woods are not as clean as in the past, when livestock grazed and reduced vegetation that now serves as fuel for wildfires,” he explained. To mitigate risks, he suggested innovative measures such as creating mosaic landscapes where forests are interspersed with cultivated fields, making land less vulnerable to fire spread.
Agriculture is already adapting, he noted, as olive and wine producers shift production to higher altitudes in search of cooler conditions to maintain quality and yield.
Martin-Vide also welcomed the Spanish government’s plan to forge a nationwide pact on fire prevention, calling it “very necessary.”
Spain is experiencing its worst wildfire season of the century, with more than 20 major blazes still burning, particularly in the northwestern provinces of Orense, Zamora, and Leon. The Interior Ministry confirmed that over 33,000 residents have been evacuated, while four people — including three firefighters — have died.
