This is a fast-moving, still-developing situation, so figures are shifting by the hour — but as of the most recent reporting:
- France: a wildfire reaching the outskirts of Bordeaux has pushed the total evacuated across surrounding areas to 110,000, on top of the earlier evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula.
- Spain: merged fires near Madrid and Ávila have displaced or confined around 60,000 people, under a national emergency declared by Madrid.
That puts the combined total at roughly 170,000 people evacuated or confined across the two countries right now. Earlier wire reports through Friday morning had put the combined figure lower (around 87,000–92,000), so the number has climbed noticeably through the day as the Bordeaux-area fire has grown — worth checking again later today, as it may keep moving.
For broader context: Portugal and Spain have each reported a 100% increase in wildfires this year compared with the same period in 2025, and wildfires have risen 57% across the WHO European Region since 2022, with 254,388 hectares already burned by 22 July this year, according to European Forest Fire data.
The global picture is getting worse over the years but in some ways 2026 is more benign.
This snap of Europe’s tracking data makes the world look like it is on fire.
It isn’t.
The vast burnt areas and CO₂ figures on GWIS for Central Africa look scary because the sheer scale of African land burning is immense. But because it is overwhelmingly seasonal grass and agricultural burning that rapidly regrows, it is part of an annual cycle rather than a sudden global runaway disaster.
And wildfire season if actually off to a slow start this year, as of three weeks ago at least.
Our World in Data website
Claude and Gemini helped…not fully checked, warning