Emissions from fires across Europe highest in 23 years

Blazes across Europe this summer, especially in the Iberian peninsula, caused the continent's largest recorded wildfire carbon emissions in nearly a quarter-century, the EU climate monitor Copernicus has said.

After a summer marked by "intense wildfire activity", "the emissions resulting from these wildfires have been the largest for any summer in at least the last 23 years," said Laurence Rouil, Director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

Across the EU and UK, fires released 12.9 megatonnes of planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere up until 15 September, beating the previous record of 11.4 megatonnes set in 2003 and 2017.

Based on the monitor's estimates, the continent's total yearly emissions are set to be the highest since records began 23 years ago - "with the fire season still active".