Heatwave Sparks Widespread Wildfires and Evacuations Across Southern Europe
A fast-moving wildfire is threatening the western Greek city of Patras as soaring temperatures and powerful winds fuel blazes across southern Europe.
The fire has forced widespread evacuations, including a children’s hospital, and blanketed the city in thick smoke, prompting respiratory-related hospitalizations.
Over 10,000 hectares have burned in Greece’s Achaia region in just two days, with entire villages emptied, homes destroyed, and more than 500 cars incinerated at a local customs yard. Streets in Patras, home to around 200,000 residents, stood eerily empty as the fire advanced from surrounding mountains under 38°C heat. Authorities ordered the evacuation of a nearby town of 7,700 people on Tuesday and issued further alerts for two more villages on Wednesday.
On the islands of Zante and Chios, dozens were rescued by coastguards as fires crept dangerously close to the coast. Greece has requested EU water bombers to support the 4,800 firefighters already battling more than 20 active wildfires nationwide, as the crisis continues amid a region-wide heatwave that has sparked flames from Portugal to the Balkans.
Spain has also been hit hard, with a civilian and a volunteer firefighter reported dead on Wednesday, marking the country’s tenth consecutive day of extreme heat, which reached 45°C on Tuesday. Nearly all of Spain is now under extreme or very high fire risk, according to national meteorologists, with the heatwave expected to last through Monday, making it one of the longest on record. Spanish wildfires have ignited a political controversy after Transport Minister Óscar Puente made a sarcastic remark about conditions “getting a little hot” in Castile and León, where fires have endangered a UNESCO-listed Roman site and displaced more than 6,000 people.
Opposition leaders demanded his resignation, while Puente defended his criticism of absent regional leadership during the national crisis.
So far in 2025, Spain has recorded 199 wildfires scorching 99,000 hectares, double last year’s figure by mid-August, with authorities suspecting arson in several cases. Portugal has deployed 1,800 firefighters to combat five major blazes, including one reignited by lightning in Trancoso. I
n Albania, 24 active wildfires have forced rural evacuations, with the defense minister warning of a “critical week.” Italy has largely contained a five-day fire near Mount Vesuvius but remains under extreme heat alerts in 16 cities, with Florence hitting 39°C.
In Vatican City, Pope Leo moved his weekly audience indoors due to the heat, while the UK entered its fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures nearing 34°C and prompting warnings of strain on health services.
The ongoing wildfires across southern Europe underline the severe impacts of extreme heat and climate change, as authorities scramble to contain the flames and protect residents from an intensifying crisis.
