Wildfires have once again severely affected the Pyrenees this summer, leaving a tragic situation and highlighting, once more, the territory’s growing vulnerability to climate change. Rising temperatures, heatwaves, prolonged droughts and the weakening of ecosystems are creating increasingly favourable conditions for high-intensity wildfires that are difficult to control. Since 1960, the average temperature in the Pyrenees has risen by 1.9°C —approximately 30% more than the global average— while the mountain range has lost three frost days and gained 4.9 summer days per decade.

Against this backdrop, this summer the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) published the opinion article “Beyond the flames: managing the landscape to protect our lives” in Heraldo de Aragón. Drawing on the wildfires currently affecting the region, the article highlights a fundamental issue: our action cannot be limited to extinguishing fires once they have already started; we must prepare the territory in advance to reduce risk before an emergency occurs.

This concern is not new. Since 2010, the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory has worked to generate and share knowledge on the impacts of climate change across the Pyrenees and to promote coordinated adaptation among its territories. Within this framework, on 12 November 2025, the OPCC presented in Toulouse, as part of LIFE-SIP PYRENEES4CLIMA, the “Opinion on Natural and Climate Risks in the Pyrenees”, signed by 23 experts. The document set out 16 recommendations to strengthen prevention, adaptation and cross-border cooperation in response to increasingly interconnected risks, with particular attention to large-scale wildfires.

The message we are conveying now remains the same, but the reality of this summer makes it even more urgent: preparedness must become a central pillar of climate change adaptation. Managing the landscape, reducing vulnerabilities, recognising the role of agropastoralism and forestry, and strengthening cooperation between territories are essential to prevent wildfires from reaching a scale that exceeds our capacity to respond. The full article published in Heraldo de Aragón is available in the attached PDF.