Story perspectives

EU Sends Aircraft to Tackle Europe’s Worst Wildfires Since WWII

7/29/2026

Summary

EU Air Support

The EU dispatched seven planes and four helicopters to France and six planes with three teams to Spain.
President Emmanuel Macron called the Gironde blaze the worst crisis since WWII, noting 420 km² burned and 220,000 people evacuated near Bordeaux.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared a civil-protection emergency after more than 170,000 hectares burned in Ávila.
Scientists say climate-change-driven heatwaves and drought are “supercharging” wildfire risk in Europe.

Summary

Scientists Flag Wildfires

Researchers label the July France-Spain blazes as “sixth-generation wildfires,” whose energy dwarfs conventional fires.
NASA satellites recorded fire energy in July that was twice the previous July record, confirming unprecedented intensity.
A pyrocumulonimbus formed over Gironde, the first fire-induced thunderstorm recorded in France.
Copernicus data show the fires emitted over 8 tonnes of CO2, which scientists say could turn forests into net carbon sources and trigger a climate feedback loop.

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EU Air Support

The EU dispatched seven planes and four helicopters to France and six planes with three teams to Spain.
President Emmanuel Macron called the Gironde blaze the worst crisis since WWII, noting 420 km² burned and 220,000 people evacuated near Bordeaux.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared a civil-protection emergency after more than 170,000 hectares burned in Ávila.
Scientists say climate-change-driven heatwaves and drought are “supercharging” wildfire risk in Europe.

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