Portugal’s wildfire-burned area nearly quadruples every year amid extreme heat

Lisbon: The area burned in Portugal has nearly quadrupled compared with the same period last year, as extreme heat and elevated fire danger fueled a surge in rural fires across the country, according to official data.

Data from Portugal’s Rural Fire Integrated Management System (SGIFR), obtained by Lusa news agency on Monday (local time), showed that 4,592 wildfires have been recorded nationwide so far this year, burning 30,155 hectares, more than half of the total burned area recorded between Wednesday and Sunday alone, reports Xinhua news agency.

Compared with the same period in 2025, the burned area has nearly quadrupled, reaching its highest level for the period since 2017. The number of wildfires has also increased by about 70 per cent year on year, marking the highest figure for the period since 2022.

Portugal has been experiencing exceptionally high temperatures since last week, triggering the highest-level red heat warning in several regions.

On Friday, the Portuguese government declared a nationwide state of alert, citing a “significant increase in the risk of rural fires.”

Earlier on July 3, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced that Portugal will activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism and bilateral cooperation agreements with Spain and Morocco in response to an extreme heat wave that is driving severe wildfire risk across the country.

“We decided, at this point, to activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism and also the bilateral agreements with Spain and Morocco,” Montenegro had said, stressing that the move was precautionary and that national capacity had not yet been exhausted.

He said that the goal was to avoid transferring firefighting assets between regions, citing a “significant deterioration in rural fire risk.”

Twelve of Portugal’s 18 mainland districts are currently under red alert due to extreme heat, with virtually the entire continental territory under elevated wildfire risk, reports Xinhua news agency.

The European Civil Protection Mechanism allows EU member states and other participating countries to request international assistance when national resources are insufficient or when they wish to reinforce response capacity preventively.

IANS