France Sees Worst Wildfire Season Since Record 2022 Blazes

Wildfires burned more than 42,000 hectares (103,000 acres) of land in France by mid-July this year, surpassing the previous record set in 2022, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis).

The devastated area is about four times the size of Paris. And the area burned so far in 2026 has already far exceeded the total for all of 2025. France's all-time annual record stands at 66,300 hectares burned in 2022.

Wildfires that broke out during the first two weeks of July alone burned nearly 15,000 hectares, hitting Fontainebleau forest near Paris, as well as southern France and Corsica.

Unlike in 2022, Effis also recorded major wildfires in February, when controlled burns are usually carried out for forest and land management.

The European monitor, which uses satellite imagery to detect burned areas, records only fires covering at least 30 hectares.

Its methodology differs from that of the French authorities, which said on Monday that just under 40,000 hectares had burned since the start of the year.

A historic heatwave that swept across much of Europe in June has caused a severe drought. And authorities have warned that rising temperatures this week meant an increased risk of more fires.

Just under 200,000 hectares have burned across the European Union by mid-July this year, slightly less than the 235,000 hectares burned by the same point in 2025, the record year.  

Growing more intense as a result of climate change, wildfires burned more than one million hectares across the EU in 2025 for the first time since Effis began keeping records in 2006.

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