The world is burning less, but the rhetoric says otherwise
Despite apocalyptic headlines and political rhetoric, global satellite data reveals the planet is on track for its quietest fire season in more than a century.
The world appears to be burning less, yet political rhetoric suggests otherwise. Despite apocalyptic headlines, satellite data reveals 2026 is tracking a quiet fire season, 42 percent below the 2012–2025 average. France and Spain experienced devastating wildfires, with over 220,000 evacuated and 90,000 displaced. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez labeled the fires a "painful expression" of climate change, and the UK and Spain called climate change a "national security emergency."
However, globally, less than 1.5 percent of land area is expected to burn, well below the previous low of 2.2 percent in 2022 and likely the lowest since 1900. Critics cherry-pick catastrophic blazes while ignoring the overall decrease in burned area, comparing it to dismissing a "quiet summer" in the Baltics. Even excluding Russia, Europe has burned only two-thirds of its average, and 10 of the past 14 years saw more mid-August burning. Two nations' disasters do not equate to a continental or planetary inferno.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post Academia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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