France battles largest wildfire in decades

Hundreds of firefighters are battling a deadly wildfire in southern France, as record heat continues to fuel extreme conditions across Europe

Wildfire, which began in village of Ribaute on Aug 5, has scorched 12,000 hectares so far – area larger than Paris

Perpignan
Figueres
Narbonne
Carcassonne
Ribaute
SPAINFRANCEANDORRAPYRENEES
Gulf of Lion
Corbières-Fenouillèdes regional nature park
12 miles
20km

EUROPEAN UNION FOREST FIRES (cumulative)

NUMBER OF FIRES

1,508
641

BURNT AREAS (hectares, m)

Aug 5: 370,460 hectares – well above 19-year average of 187,766 for same time of year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0

MaxMinAverage
(2006-24)
Max
Min
Average (2006-24)
2025
2025

France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Romania – along with non-EU Turkey – are countries worst affected by wildfires this year so far

Sources: AFP, Copernicus EFFIS
© GRAPHIC NEWS