What changes for visitors in the south of Tenerife?

Nothing changes for visitors in the south, because the study “State of Wildfires 2025–2026” is a research report, not a regulation. It names no rules, deadlines or prices, and the Canary Islands do not appear in it.

The Cabildo (island government) of Tenerife has not commented on the study. No special measures for the southern resorts are known.

Anyone planning a forest walk or a barbecue should check the Cabildo's current notices first. At high alert levels, it closes recreation areas and camping zones.

What did the study find about the fires in Spain and Portugal?

According to the study, climate change made extreme fire weather in north-western Iberia about 3.6 times more likely in August 2025. On the central estimate, the burned area was 2.93 times as large as in a world without human-caused warming.

Between 8 and 26 August 2025, around 5,247 square kilometres burned, according to the study's press release. Fourteen fires passed 100 square kilometres, the threshold for a megafire.

Satellite analysis shows Spain lost about 3,600 square kilometres, its largest burned area since 2002. In Portugal, the fire near Arganil covered around 654 square kilometres, the largest single fire in the country's history.

The authors admit large uncertainty but consider a climate contribution very likely. Three times the area does not mean the flames burned three times hotter, because the study measured fire risk and burned area.

How bad was the damage in Spain and Portugal?

In Spain, the study counted eight deaths, 86 injuries and more than 42,900 evacuations. Portugal reported six deaths and at least 246 hospital admissions.

Europe had its most extreme wildfire season since records began in 2006, according to the European system EFFIS. EFFIS estimated 19,629 square kilometres burned, 301% above the 2006 to 2024 average.

Worldwide, however, the burned area of the 2025-2026 season was 18% below the 2002 to 2024 average. The study puts this down to little fire in the African savannas.

An earlier rapid study by World Weather Attribution, dated 4 September 2025, looked only at fire weather and called it about 40 times more likely. Spanish researchers disagreed in part.

Víctor Fernández-García of the Universidad de León said 2025 was not the worst year for burned area. It was the fifth worst, he said.

How did 2025 go on Tenerife itself?

The Cabildo counted twelve wildfires covering around 81.8 hectares up to 27 October 2025, almost all of it from the Los Partidos de Franquis fire. Another 34 small outbreaks added up to 9,761 square metres.

The campaign ran from 2 June to 2 November 2025 with more than 1,000 personnel. The Cabildo called it its largest deployment so far, but gave no budget and no comparison with earlier years.

The fleet included 14 heavy fire engines, two Cabildo helicopters and six from the Canary Islands government. The Spanish state added two helicopters and one aircraft.

The Cabildo's wildfire emergency plan (PEIN) was in force as a precaution from 16 July 2025. On 6 August 2025 it stood at pre-alert, and at 14:00 on 8 August 2025 it rose to the highest alert level.

The August 2023 fire remains the island's reference case. It covered 12,000 to 14,750 hectares across 12 to 13 municipalities.

The Council of Ministers put it at around 14,750 hectares in 13 municipalities. That makes the 81.8 hectares of 2025 well under 1% of that.

Who decides on Tenerife, who pays and what is still open?

The Cabildo runs the fire campaign and the PEIN plan on Tenerife. The Canary Islands government declares alert levels and activated the regional wildfire plan INFOCA on 5 July 2026.

For 2026, the Cabildo says, a 4 million euro project with thermal imaging cameras is under way to monitor 90% of the forest area. Who pays for it is not stated.

The Cabildo's Plan de Medianías has run for three years since June 2024 and is building a protective belt from Garachico to San Juan de la Rambla. Budget figures differ: 3.6 million euros for more than 220 measures in 19 municipalities, whereas 2.9 million was mentioned earlier.

According to the Cabildo, about 25% of Tenerife's residents live in zones at the forest edge. Not confirmed are a total burned area for the Canary Islands in 2025, a budget for the 2025 campaign and the exact rules on fires and barbecues.

What do the authors say about the future?

Under the SSP3-7.0 scenario, similar fires in north-western Iberia would burn about 78% more land by the end of the century. Individual projections show up to seven times as much.

For fires like Europe's 2025 season, the authors expect about a third more burned area in 20 years. They name no scenario for that figure.

Douglas Kelley of the research institute UKCEH says: “The strongest climate signal shows up in the most extreme fires, not in the average.” Chantelle Burton of the UK weather service Met Office stresses that consistent emissions cuts can still prevent worse fires.

The press releases on the study are dated 11 November 2026, and it was presented at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya. No follow-up dates are known, and no separate assessment for the Canary Islands is planned.