The World Meteorological Organization reports that increasing wildfires and heatwaves driven by climate change are hindering global efforts to improve air quality, raising exposure to toxic PM2.5 pollution even as industrial regulations have reduced emissions. The UN agency warns this trend will make it progressively harder to meet WHO clean air standards.
Firefighters launched a decisive push to encircle Belgium's largest wildfire in a century in the High Fens nature reserve near the German border. Rain and cooler temperatures are aiding containment efforts despite hampering air support operations, with the blaze having ravaged an area half the size of Manhattan.
Severe wildfires are sweeping across multiple European countries, with at least one death and 40 injuries in Croatia, nearly 500 arrests for suspected arson in France, and the UK imposing emergency measures including a ban on disposable barbecues and nationwide fire alerts.
Indonesian authorities have closed Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park to all tourist activities as a wildfire that began Monday has scorched 176 hectares of land. Firefighters are deploying ground and aerial operations to combat the blaze, which has been fueled by drought, strong winds, and El Niño conditions during an unusually dry season.
Authorities arrested Aaron F. Farinacci on suspicion of starting one of three major wildfires burning around Spokane, Washington, which have destroyed over 700 structures and forced 65,000 residents to evacuate.
Wind-driven wildfires have burned approximately 250,000 acres in eastern Washington state, destroying around 600 residential and commercial buildings and forcing the evacuation of approximately 5,000 homes in the Spokane area. Governor Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency as the Old Trails Fire jumped the Spokane River.
Wind-driven wildfires have burned approximately 250,000 acres in eastern Washington state, destroying around 600 residential and commercial buildings and forcing the evacuation of approximately 5,000 homes in the Spokane area. Governor Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency as the Old Trails Fire jumped the Spokane River.
Two to three firefighters died battling wildfires on the Greek island of Crete as southern Europe confronts an escalating wildfire crisis. In France, an uncontained blaze four times the size of Paris has generated rare fire-induced thunderstorms, marking what experts describe as a new era of megafires for the continent.
The Environment Agency has declared seven areas across central, eastern, and southern England officially in drought, with July on track to be the driest on record. The 'flash drought' follows unusually low rainfall and the fourth heatwave of the year, creating dangerous fire conditions across the country.
Heavy smoke from more than 800 wildfires burning across Canada spread south on July 16, 2026, darkening skies and creating hazardous air quality conditions across the US Midwest and East Coast. Officials warned millions of Americans, particularly elderly and medically vulnerable people, to stay indoors as unhealthy air readings were reported in at least 20 states.
Toronto recorded the worst air quality among major global cities as smoke from over 100 active wildfires in Ontario blanketed the city and drifted into the US Midwest and Northeast, prompting health warnings for millions.
Wildfires raging across southern Europe have forced thousands to evacuate, with over 10,000 people displaced in France's Pyrenees region alone. The blazes have scorched more than 20,000 hectares across France, Spain, Portugal, and Greece, prompting officials to ban spectators from a Tour de France stage.
A deadly heat wave that has disrupted daily life across Europe for over a week reached Italy and the Balkans on Monday, causing hundreds of excess deaths and triggering widespread wildfires in southeastern Europe.
