© Adobe Stock/Arafat A firefighter inspects the aftermath of a forest fire in southern France. Forest fires threaten new parts of Europe: WHO supports emergency preparations Climate and Environment
The majority of forest fires in Europe are caused by humans, either by arson or by accident. However, the increase in the size, speed, spread and intensity of fires is largely determined by warmer and drier conditions associated with climate change, as well as transformations in land use.
While countries that have historically experienced wildfires are seeing them become more frequent and larger in size, other nations in traditionally cooler, wetter regions are also beginning to prepare to deal with more frequent fires.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, in the first eight months of 2026, more than 600 thousand hectares burned across the European Union. This is less than the same period in 2025— the worst year on record, – but well above the past 20-year average of about 280 thousand hectares. France and Spain, extremely dry conditions are increasing risks in many areas of Western and Central Europe, including the British Isles and southern Scandinavia. likelihood of extreme weather events.
Fires in Scottish forests
On July 15, 2026, a fire broke out in the mountains of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. Although there had been wildfires in the area before, exceptionally dry conditions this year allowed the fire to penetrate the dry peat layer, causing smoldering spots and new outbreaks that were difficult to contain.
More than 500 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the fire. Aviation was used to fight the fire, and bulldozers laid fire breaks. Nine days after the fire started, as strong winds began to blow unpredictable flames towards the village of Nethy Bridge, Police Scotland declared an emergency. Many of the approximately 600 residents were evacuated.
“Day after day of no rain has caused serious concern at Neti Bridge. We were very lucky that the wind was blowing from the west and pushing the fire towards the hills, otherwise there would have been a serious threat to property and possibly lives. However, this caused the fire to spread into relatively inaccessible terrain, making it much more difficult to contain,” said village resident James McEwan.
It took more than a month for the fire departments to officially end their work.
Preparing for the future
Will Hayes, UK bushfire researcher says concern about fires is growing.
“We are seeing growing concern about bushfires outside the Mediterranean, particularly in the Atlantic Highlands of Ireland and Scotland, and parts of northern and central Europe. These regions are not developing into Mediterranean landscapes, but traditionally wetter, cooler areas are now increasingly faced with periods when vegetation becomes dry enough to catch fire and fire can spread quickly,” he says. fires.
“During periods of dry, warm and windy weather, vegetation can become extremely flammable, even in northern and mountainous areas. During high-risk periods, avoid campfires and open fire cooking, avoid careless handling of ignition sources, and follow local fire warnings. It must be remembered that, given the right conditions, even a small fire can spread quickly,” he emphasized.
Public Health Risk Assessment
Preparing for wildfires isn’t just important for fire departments, Hayes says. He said fire prevention starts with managing landscapes before fires occur.
“Wildfire risk should be considered as a land use, climate change adaptation and public health issue, not just an emergency response issue,” he noted.
60~p>Po According to Tanya Schmidt, a specialist at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, countries in the region are increasingly using comprehensive national risk assessments to understand climate change-related threats, identify impacts and identify priority actions to improve preparedness. This helps protect populations and ensure health systems are prepared for response.
WHO’s STAR (Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risks) methodology enables public health authorities, in collaboration with other sectors, to rapidly conduct evidence-based strategic risk assessments.
Cyprus and Ireland recently conducted such assessments for the first time. Experts have prioritized the most serious health threats, including heat waves and wildfires. This has created the foundation for smarter investments in emergency preparedness and response. Since 2018, WHO has conducted 38 national workshops on strategic risk assessment in the European Region.