Context: Wildfires are raging in several Mediterranean countries, including Spain and France, after the increased heat waves incidents in Europe.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Climate change: Key trends; Mediterranean Type of Climate.
Wildfires in Europe: Key Trends
- Wildfires have burnt over 2.2 lakh hectares of land since January 2025 in Europe. This is more than double the average for this time of year over the past two decades.
- The number of wildfire incidents have also surged. This has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
Factors favorable for Wildfires:
- Hot summer and strong winds: The Mediterranean region's hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires. Once fires start, plentiful dry vegetation and strong winds in the region can cause them to spread rapidly and burn out of control.
- Climate change: As per the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Europe has warmed at twice the global average since the 1980s. That warmer baseline means higher temperatures can be reached during heatwaves, which exacerbates the risk of wildfires.
Europe’s New Climate Reality:
Greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning coal, oil and gas, have heated the planet by about 1.3 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
- Europe is the fastest-warming continent as it is witnessing an average temperature rise of around 0.5 degrees Celsius per decade compared to 0.2 degrees Celsius globally. The continent is experiencing an increase in the frequency of heatwaves in recent years.
Reasons Include:
- Europe’s proximity to the Arctic region- which is by far the fastest-warming part of Earth. As a result, the Arctic region contributes to the soaring temperatures in Europe, making it more vulnerable to heatwaves.
- Feedback systems: In continental regions like Europe, rising temperatures increase evapotranspiration, causing rapid dried-out soil moisture. This leads to positive feedback- Dried-out soils send more sensible heat back into the atmosphere, which warms up and further aggravates aridity.
- Changes in the behaviour of jet streams (rapid currents encircling the Earth from west to east at high altitudes). Recent studies show that Europe is increasingly becoming vulnerable to a phenomenon called double jet stream. This occurs when the main jet stream temporarily splits in two branches. This results in an area of weak winds and high-pressure air between the two branches that causes extreme heat. Double jet streams become more common when land mass heats up in early summer.
Mediterranean Type of Climate:
- A Mediterranean climate, or dry summer climate is a major climate type described by Köppen classification.
- The temperate climate occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30° and 45° latitude North and South of the Equator)
- Such climates typically have hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, with summer conditions being hot and winter conditions typically being mild (winter rain climate).
- Mediterranean vegetation: Trees with hard, waxy leaves to reduce water loss; Evergreen shrubs, bushes etc.
Also Read: Forest Fire Incidents in India