Satellite images showed the devastation left behind after wildfires ripped through Europe this summer, with successive heatwaves fuelled by climate change intensifying drought and leaving vegetation tinder-dry.

From France and Spain to Greece, fires have killed more than 20 people, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and burned 576,000 hectares (2,225 square miles) across Europe this year, data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows - an area twice the size of Luxembourg.

Extreme fire risk has become a regular part of European summers in recent years, as hotter, drier weather caused by climate change has combined with other factors – including rural abandonment, which has left land untended and allowed flammable, dry vegetation to build up in forests – to fuel fast-spreading fires.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

Before and after satellite images show devastation from European wildfires

VIDEO SHOWS: BEFORE AND AFTER SATELLITE IMAGES OF WILDFIRE-AFFECTED AREAS IN EUROPE

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: CAIRNGORMS, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 13, 2026) (2026 PLANET LABS PBC - Must on-screen courtesy 2026 Planet Labs PBC) (MUTE)

1. BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF FORESTED LAND

CAIRNGORMS, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 23, 2026) (2026 PLANET LABS PBC - Must on-screen courtesy 2026 Planet Labs PBC) (MUTE)

2. AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

OMIS, CROATIA (AUGUST 13, 2026) (2026 PLANET LABS PBC - Must on-screen courtesy 2026 Planet Labs PBC) (MUTE)

3. BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

OMIS, CROATIA (AUGUST 16, 2026) (2026 PLANET LABS PBC - Must on-screen courtesy 2026 Planet Labs PBC) (MUTE)

4. AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

GIRONDE, FRANCE (JULY 21, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

5. BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

GIRONDE, FRANCE (AUGUST 12, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

6. AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

GIRONDE, FRANCE (JULY 21, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

7. ZOOMED-IN BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

GIRONDE, FRANCE (AUGUST 12, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

8. ZOOMED-IN AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

GIRONDE, FRANCE (JULY 21, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

9. ZOOMED-OUT BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

GIRONDE, FRANCE (AUGUST 12, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

10. ZOOMED-OUT AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

PORT GERMANO, GREECE (JULY 26, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

11. BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

PORT GERMANO, GREECE (AUGUST 12, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

12. AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

PORT GERMANO, GREECE (JULY 26, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

13. ZOOMED-OUT BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

PORT GERMANO, GREECE (AUGUST 12, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

14. ZOOMED-OUT AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

ALMERIA, SPAIN (ARCHIVE - JULY 8, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

15. BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF LAND AND COASTLINE

ALMERIA, SPAIN (AUGUST 7, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

16. AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

ALMERIA, SPAIN (ARCHIVE - JULY 8, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

17. ZOOMED-IN BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF LAND AND COASTLINE

ALMERIA, SPAIN (AUGUST 7, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

18. ZOOMED-IN AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

CASTELLON, SPAIN (ARCHIVE - JULY 3, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

19. BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

CASTELLON, SPAIN (AUGUST 12, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

20. AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE

CASTELLON, SPAIN (ARCHIVE - JULY 3, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

21. ZOOMED-IN BEFORE SATELLITE IMAGE OF GREEN LAND AND COASTLINE

CASTELLON, SPAIN (AUGUST 7, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 - Must on-screen courtesy European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2) (MUTE)

22. ZOOMED-IN AFTER SATELLITE IMAGE OF LARGE PATCH OF BURNT LAND AFTER WILDFIRE