This summer, wildfires destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of forest in Europe.

Omissions

• The MEP's figure ('tens of thousands of hectares') drastically understates the actual burnt area: EU-wide EFFIS/JRC data put the total at ~692,000 hectares by 7 October 2026, i.e. hundreds of thousands of hectares.
• The EFFIS/JRC figure covers the total area affected by fires (all land-cover types, not exclusively 'forest'); however this does not alter the order of magnitude of the understatement.
• Context omitted: the JRC notes that the 2026 area affected is BELOW the area recorded by the same date in 2025, described as the worst year on record — so 2026 was not an exceptional record year for burnt area, contrary to the framing of 'unprecedented' devastation.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Joint Research Centre (JRC), Current wildfire situation in EuropeAs of 7 October 2026, the area affected by fires has reached 692 419 hectares. This is below the area recorded by the same date in 2025 (the worst year on ...).
• PrimaryEFFIS / Copernicus – Estimates for European Union (statistics)Country FRA - France. Country Area (ha) 54951621. Annual Avg. (ha) 14755.85. Year 2026 (ha) 98248. (France alone recorded 98,248 ha burnt in 2026, more than six times its annual average.)
• AcademicPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), around 550,000 hectares have burned across the EU as of 12 August 2026, about two and a half ...
• SecondaryState of Wildfires – A look at Europe's wildfire season of 2026By 16 September, the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) had mapped 666,534 hectares of burned area across the European Union—approximately 4.2 ...
• SecondaryRed Cross UK – Wildfires in Europe: response to extreme weather 2026According to the European Commision as of 5 August, there have been 1614 fires recorded this year, with 505,683 hectares affected.