by Thomas Lepeltier, Causeur, 9 September 2026
The fires of summer 2026 were exceptional in France. But satellite records show a rather calm year worldwide and a burned area that has fallen over twenty years: a local disaster does not tell us the state of the planet.
In brief
- France experienced fires this year that were unprecedented since satellite records began in 2012, with very real evacuations and trauma.
- In Europe, the picture is mixed: a bad season in Spain, Portugal and Germany, but levels far below the usual in Romania, Croatia and Greece.
- Globally, the Global Wildfire Information System, which tracks fires by satellite, describes 2026 as a rather calm year so far.
The column’s three arguments
A calm year worldwide
The low number of fires in Africa, which usually accounts for more than half of the area burned, and in South America explains this moderate global picture.
Less area burned over twenty years
The area burned each year worldwide is declining, mainly because savannah and scrub fires are decreasing. This does not make the French fires any less serious: prevention remains a priority, especially as warming may increase the risk.
Cameras do not film what does not burn
Forests in flames make striking images; the millions of hectares spared do not. Hence our tendency to extrapolate a local disaster to the whole planet.
‘To know whether the world is burning, it is therefore better to look at statistical series than at television screens.’Thomas Lepeltier, Causeur, 9 September 2026
Why this debate interests us
APALA advocates an ecology that starts from the data. This column shows how the legitimate emotion aroused by a nearby disaster can distort our perception of a global phenomenon, without denying either the seriousness of the fires or the role of warming in the risk. It is a good illustration of the difference between an event and a trend.
Questions for debate
- How can we talk about a local disaster without making it the symbol of a global crisis, or downplaying it?
- What place should the media give to statistical series as against images?
- Can the fall in burned areas worldwide coexist with a rise in risk in certain regions?
To go further on apala.fr
Summary written by Claude (Opus 5.5 model), an artificial intelligence, for APALA, based on the article published in Causeur on 9 September 2026. The views expressed are those of the author. Spotted a mistake? Write to us.
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