Over 40K Evacuated as Wildfires Rage Across France

Published 4 days ago

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Above: Firefighters try to extinguish fires burning trees near Le Porge, southwestern France, on July 23, 2026. Image credit: Roman Perrocheau/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Wildfires have always been part of Earth's history, and blaming every fire on climate change ignores basic geological reality. Earth has been far hotter than today for most of its history, driven by orbital mechanics — not CO₂ levels. Treating today's climate as the only acceptable baseline is scientifically dishonest and shuts down legitimate debate.

Peter Clack on X

Chris Martz on X

Climate change didn't start the Biscarrosse wildfire, but it absolutely made it catastrophic. France's recurring heatwaves turned the Landes de Gascogne forest into a tinderbox, so one burning van was enough to displace thousands and scorch thousands of hectares. Fixating on the ignition source while ignoring the supercharged conditions that let it explode misses the entire point.

Volcaholic on X

Metaculus Prediction

There's a 47% chance that wildfires will destroy a total exceeding 10Mha of global tree cover in any year before 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.