Europe Sees Highest Emissions From Summer Wildfires In 23 Years

Umer Jamshaid Published September 19, 2025 | 05:30 PM

VIENNA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 19th Sep, 2025) In 2025, Europe recorded the highest forest fire emissions since records began 23 years ago, according to estimates by the EU's earth observation service, Copernicus.

Copernicus noted that forest fires in Europe had already released around 12.9 megatons of carbon by September 15. This significantly exceeds the previous record of 11.4 megatons from 2003 and 2017.

According to the report, the majority of the emissions were caused by the fires in Spain and Portugal in August. The fires on the Iberian Peninsula in August caused three quarters of the total emissions.

"Over the course of the summer, there were various regions in Europe that were affected by very intense forest fires, especially in the south of the continent. The emissions caused by these forest fires were the highest in at least 23 years," emphasised Laurence Rouil, Director of the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service.