Reacción a "So far this year, almost 120,000 hectares have been destroyed by fire in Spain – one of the highest figures recorded for this time of year"

Unfortunately, I did expect a summer like this in terms of wildfires, and the coming summer won’t be much different. That’s to be expected when vast areas of pine or eucalyptus are planted in a Mediterranean landscape. That is what has been done in many parts of the Iberian Peninsula (including Portugal) since the mid-20th century. If we add to that the extremely high temperatures and extremely low humidity associated with summer heatwaves (one of the manifestations of current climate change), the recipe for disaster is complete.

It is curious that everyone points the finger at the arsonist/idiot/careless person who started the fire, but nobody points the finger at those who planted that vast pine or eucalyptus forest there; in many cases, poorly managed ones. In fact, the link between the extent and severity of the fires and the alarming continuation of pine (or eucalyptus) afforestation across the landscape is rarely mentioned. And yet it exists. The recent fire at La Mierla (Guadalajara, 2026) is a telling example. The environmental damage caused by these plantations predates the fire, but culminates with it.