MADRID (AP) 鈥� Wildfires raging across Europe have killed hundreds of people over the last decade, and climate change is set to push the death toll even higher in the coming years.
killed at least 11 people overnight into Friday morning, making it one of the country鈥檚 deadliest on record, as gripped much of the country.
Europe is the world鈥檚 , with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union鈥檚 Copernicus Climate Change Service. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.
Scientists warn that climate change caused in part by the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making certain regions more vulnerable to
Here’s a look at some of the last decade’s deadliest wildfires across Europe:
More than 100 died in Greece in 2018
Greece鈥檚 deadliest wildfire was in 2018, when a , east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. , including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.
In 2023, in Greek wildfires, including who became trapped by the flames of what became as they crossed through a forest in northeastern Greece.
More recently, a wildfire in northern Greece last week.
10 killed in Turkish wildfire last year
Last July, were killed while trying to put out a wildfire that raged in a forested area of Eskisehir province in northwestern Turkey. The victims were forestry workers and members of the AKUT rescue organization.
Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said at the time that winds suddenly changed direction, causing the flames to shift and surround the forestry workers.
of them was a 28-year-old man who had returned to work from his honeymoon just two days earlier. And one AKUT volunteer had spent a month rescuing the victims of a that struck southern Turkey in February 2023.
Portugal wildfire left dozens dead in 2017
Portugal’s deadliest wildfire left 66 people dead in 2017 in Pedrogao Grande, 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Lisbon. Most while trying to flee in cars.
brought 2017’s annual wildfire-related death toll in Portugal even higher, to more than 120 people, making it the deadliest year for such fatalities. The victims included a 1-month-old infant and the baby’s parents.
The Portuguese government went on to enact a to prevent and contain wildfires.
Reforms included public education campaigns on how fires start, establishing a rapid reaction force of firefighters and cutting several thousand kilometers (miles) of firebreaks, as well as making available a large number of firefighting assets.
Cyprus blames climate change for fatal fires
In Cyprus, many officials have pointed to climate change for the ferocity and speed of recent wildfires that have claimed at least six lives over the last five years.
In July 2021, the charred remains of four Egyptian laborers were discovered outside a fire-swept mountain village in what one official called the 鈥渕ost destructive鈥� blaze the east Mediterranean island nation had ever seen.
Last July, rescue crews found the bodies of an elderly couple inside a gutted car on the shoulder of a mountain road. The speed with which the wildfire scorched roughly 50 square miles of forested hillsides prompted President Nikos Christodoulides to remark that 鈥渢here鈥檚 never been anything like this before in Cyprus.鈥�
Very strong winds, high temperatures and very arid conditions after of minimal rainfall created a perfect storm at the wildfire鈥檚 peak.
In August last year, a study by World Weather Attribution said climate change that has driven scorching temperatures and dwindling rainfall made massive wildfires in , and burn much more fiercely that summer.
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