August 2026 – Week 2
This week’s live blog is continuing to bring you up to speed with the extreme European wildfires extensive and large amount of wildfires are breaking out as a result of months of extreme heat and dry conditions.
We will track the active and emerging wildfires and report on the fatalities and overall impacts as data comes in, and will look at how governments are responding to the wildfire and crisis combined with viewpoints from experts.
It is updated dayly for the remainder of the week and into early next week.
Last week’s live blog can be found here.
Key developments we are tracking this week:
- Third week of European-wide wildfires
- Greece is the currently most fire-active area
- Wildfires are shifting eastwards
- More extreme heat and dry conditions forecast for several parts of Europe
Latest
Wednesday 5th of August 2026
23:40 GMT
Italy: Wildfires in Italy has so far burned 70,000 hectares. The worst could yet be to come as extreme heat returning to the country with regions putting in place emergency status.
23:20 GMT
Wildfire data: The latest European wildfire data show that the situation remains severe. While conditions in southern Europe is stable and even improving in some places, extreme heat has pushed the highest wildfire danger eastwards. Greece has overtaken France and Spain as Europe’s principal wildfire hotspot, Albania is experiencing rapidly worsening conditions, and exceptional temperatures across central Europe have significantly increased wildfire risk ahead of the next phase of the fire season.
| Country | Current status | Largest active or recently active fires | Fire danger | Trend since 30 July | Latest developments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | 🟠 Local active fires | Northern Portugal | High | 🔻 Improving | Most major fires are now under control following last week’s emergency. |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 🟠 Localised active fires | Valencia region; isolated outbreaks | High | 🔻 Improving | The national emergency has eased significantly, although scattered fires continue. |
| 🇫🇷 France | 🟠 Local active fires | Var; Gironde (contained) | High to Very High | 🔻 Improving | The Gironde megafire has been contained after ten days. Some new activity persists in Provence. |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 🔴 Multiple active fires | Southern Italy and Sicily | Extreme | 🔺 Increasing | Extreme heat continues to drive wildfire risk, with several southern regions on maximum alert. |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 🔴 Major active fires | Porto Germeno; Nafpaktos | Extreme | 🔺 Increasing | Greece has become Europe’s principal wildfire hotspot, with evacuations continuing and difficult firefighting conditions. |
| 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 🔴 Multiple active fires | Western and southern Türkiye | Very High | ↕ Mixed | Fire activity remains elevated, although no major deterioration has been reported since last week. |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 🟡 Local incidents | Adriatic coast | High | ➡️ Stable | Elevated fire weather continues but no major new outbreaks reported. |
| 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 🟡 Local fires | Inland forests | High | ➡️ Stable | Fire danger remains elevated across the western Balkans. |
| 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina | 🟡 Scattered incidents | Central mountains | High | ➡️ Stable | No major new wildfire emergency reported. |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 🟡 Local incidents | Southern Serbia | High | ➡️ Stable | Extreme heat maintains elevated wildfire risk. |
| 🇦🇱 Albania | 🔴 Multiple active fires | Mallakastër region | Extreme | 🔺 Increasing | Wildfires have intensified, forcing evacuations in southern Albania. |
| 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 🟡 Local incidents | Central regions | High | ➡️ Stable | No significant change from last week’s situation. |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 🟡 Local vegetation fires | Carpathian region | Moderate | ➡️ Stable | Hot conditions continue but no major wildfire escalation reported. |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 🟠 Local active fires | Southern Bulgaria | High | ➡️ Stable | Elevated fire danger persists across southern regions. |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 🟡 Elevated fire risk | — | Very High | 🔺 Risk increasing | Record-breaking heat and drought have increased fire danger despite limited fire activity. |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 🟡 Elevated fire risk | Alpine forests | Very High | 🔺 Risk increasing | Austria has recorded its highest-ever temperature (41.2°C), sharply increasing wildfire risk. |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 🟡 Local woodland fires | Eastern Germany | High | 🔺 Risk increasing | Persistent drought and heat continue to elevate wildfire danger. |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 🟡 Isolated fires | Eastern forests | Moderate | ➡️ Stable | Little overall change. |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 🟡 Local forest fires | Central Sweden | Moderate | 🔻 Improving | Cooler conditions have reduced wildfire danger compared with southern Europe. |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 🟢 Minimal activity | — | Low | ➡️ Stable | No significant change. |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 🟢 Minimal activity | — | Low | ➡️ Stable | Low wildfire activity continues. |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 🟠 Local heath and grass fires | Southern England | High | 🔻 Improving | No major new wildfire emergencies have emerged since last week’s incidents. |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | 🟢 Minimal activity | — | Moderate | ➡️ Stable | Fire danger remains moderate with no major incidents reported. |
Tuesday 4th of August 2026
11:20 GMT
Wildfire data: You can check out all the latest wildfire data in our brand-new dedicated wildfire page below:
Monday 3rd of August 2026
21:15 GMT
Greece: For the fourth day running, firefighters remained locked in a major battle against the wildfire northwest of Athens as strong winds continue to hamper containment efforts.
Having already destroyed homes, agricultural land and pine forests, the blaze has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in recent days.
Authorities are now investigating whether faulty electricity infrastructure was responsible for igniting the fire, while two people have reportedly been arrested on negligent arson charges.
The tragedy has also deepened following Sunday’s fatal collision involving two firefighting helicopters, which claimed the lives of two crew members, a Greek and a Danish national.
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Categories: climate change, Europe, impacts, live updates, Weather, wildfires
