A record one million hectares - equivalent to about half the land area of Wales - have burned across the European Union so far this year, making it the worst wildfire season since records began in 2006.
Spain and Portugal have been hit especially hard, with roughly 1% of the entire Iberian Peninsula scorched, according to EU scientists.
The worsening fire season in the Mediterranean has been linked directly to climate change, indicating an alarming trend that experts warn is likely to continue in the future.
Over two-thirds of the area burned in the EU is in Spain and Portugal alone. Reports indicate that since the beginning of this year, more than 400,000 hectares have burned in Spain and nearly 270,000 hectares in Portugal.
This catastrophic situation has prompted the largest known deployment of the EU's civil protection mechanism for firefighting. The wildfires have significantly impacted air quality, with smoke traveling as far as France and the UK.
Experts emphasize the need for better management techniques to tackle the escalating fire threat posed by climate change and rural depopulation, which leaves more land overgrown and prone to ignition.
Firefighters across Europe continue to battle these blazes as climate change exacerbates the conditions leading to increased wildfire incidents.
