Spain and Portugal wildfire weather made 40 times more likely by climate crisis, study finds

Wildfires were 30% more intense than would have been expected without global heating, scientists say

People run from a wildfire near the village of Larouco in the province of Ourense, in northwestern Spain on August 13, 2025. Photo: Miguel Riopa/AFP via Getty Images

The extreme weather that fuelled “astonishing” blazes across Spain and Portugal last month was made 40 times more likely by climate breakdown, early analysis suggests.

The deadly wildfires, which torched 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of the Iberian peninsula in a matter of weeks, were also 30% more intense than scientists would have expected in a world without climate change, according to researchers from the World Weather Attribution network.