Last year, the world broke its own temperature record. The average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, making 2024 the warmest year to date.
But that’s no reason to celebrate - quite the opposite.
Among the many serious consequences of rising temperatures is the increasing risk of wildfires. Europe’s wildfire seasons are increasingly marked by large-scale fires that threaten lives and devastate areas requiring long recovery periods. So far this year, both the number of fires and the total area burned in the European Union have been well above the 2006-2024 average.
That’s why the EU continues to invest heavily in prevention and preparedness programmes - to reduce risks and respond more quickly and effectively when emergencies occur.
Here are 5 ways the EU is preparing to respond to wildfires in 2025:
1. Providing 24/7 emergency support
Any country affected by wildfires - within or outside the EU - can request firefighting assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). But how does it work?
The EU’s 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) in Brussels receives the request, which outlines the specific needs. It then gathers voluntary offers of assistance from EU member states and other UCPM participating states. Once the requesting country accepts the offers, the ERCC coordinates the deployment and co-finances the logistical costs.
If voluntary offers are insufficient to meet the needs, the EU can also mobilise additional resources from the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP) or from its own strategic reserve, rescEU, which remain on standby during high-risk months.
2. Putting firefighting fleet and teams on standby
For the 2025 wildfire season, the EU has put together several additional resources, including 22 firefighting airplanes and 4 helicopters hosted by 10 EU member states: France, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Cyprus, Czechia, and Slovakia.
In addition, 20 ground firefighting teams - each comprising at least 30 personnel - will be available to intervene from across Europe, along with one advisory and assessment team from Spain.
3. Strategically prepositioning firefighters in key locations
Between July and September, nearly 650 firefighters from 14 European countries - Italy, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, Moldova, Czechia, Austria, France, Latvia, Malta, Estonia, and the Netherlands - will be strategically pre-positioned in high-risk areas of France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain.
Their presence on standby ensures faster response times and enables valuable on-the-ground knowledge exchange among all participating teams.
Launched in 2022 as a pilot project, the prepositioning initiative has steadily expanded - from 236 firefighters and 6 participating countries in its first year to nearly 650 firefighters from 14 countries today.
4. Setting up a wildfire support team during summer months
During the high-risk summer months, a dedicated wildfire support team will reinforce the ERCC’s coordination and analytical capacity from June through September.
The team will include 21 experts from across Europe and additional EU Civil Protection staff. Working in daily shifts of 5, the team will monitor wildfire risks across Europe and provide expert advice on weather and fire danger conditions.
They will also produce regular reports and oversee the activities of prepositioned forest firefighting teams.
5. Using a range of scientific tools
The EU uses a range of national and European monitoring tools, including the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), which provides up-to-date and reliable information on wildland fires across Europe. EFFIS offers both short- and long-term fire danger forecasts, as well as near-real-time data on active fires and burned areas.
The EU's Copernicus Emergency Management Service can also be activated to produce satellite maps of wildfire-affected areas.
Looking into the future
The European Commission has allocated significant financial resources for the acquisition of 12 new firefighting planes, which will be stationed in:
- Portugal
- Spain
- France
- Italy
- Croatia
- Greece
It has also funded 5 helicopters, 3 of which will be based in Slovakia, Czechia, and Romania. The hosting locations for the remaining 2 helicopters are still to be confirmed. The first helicopters are expected in 2026, and the first airplanes in late 2027/early 2028.
Resilience first
Beyond emergency response, the EU also supports and complements national prevention and preparedness measures - especially where a coordinated European approach proves more effective than individual national efforts. These actions include:
- conducting disaster risk assessments
- promoting research to enhance disaster resilience
- strengthening early warning systems
Currently, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism grants support 12 projects aiming to improve national preparedness and build long-term wildfire resilience.
