'Mega fires' sweep Europe, threatening economies as blazes match energy of 29 atomic bombs

Massive wildfires erupting simultaneously across Europe are prompting warnings that the era of the "mega fire" has arrived. Climate-driven extreme weather is no longer merely intensifying the scale and ferocity of blazes — it is paralyzing economies and entire industries, with damage spreading at an uncontrollable pace.

Europe is currently the fastest-warming continent on Earth, according to the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Euronews on Wednesday. Average temperatures have risen roughly 2.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — far exceeding the global average increase of about 1.4 degrees.

Experts say this rapid climate shift is triggering a "whiplash effect" that is producing wildfires unlike anything seen before.

The whiplash effect refers to an extreme weather pattern in which severe flooding and severe drought alternate within a short period. Vegetation that flourishes during wet winters dries out all at once under record summer heat and drought, creating an enormous supply of fuel for large-scale fires.

Once a wildfire grows beyond a certain size, a "firestorm" phenomenon takes hold. The immense heat generated by the blaze creates powerful updrafts and strong winds, which in turn feed the flames in a vicious cycle. The process can also generate pyrocumulonimbus clouds — towering storm clouds spawned by fire that bring lightning and violent gusts.

A pyrocumulonimbus cloud was observed Tuesday over the Gironde region near Bordeaux in southwestern France. The Associated Press said the phenomenon "is usually observed only in extreme large-scale wildfires in North America and Australia" and that it had been reported in France for the first time.

Experts now say European wildfires have reached a scale that firefighting capacity alone cannot handle.

Victor Resco de Dios, a professor of forest science and global change at the University of Lleida in Spain, told the Wall Street Journal that the mega fire threatening Madrid "released energy equivalent to 29 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima."

The scale of destruction is also reaching record levels.

More than 160,000 hectares have already burned in France — the worst in history — while over 150,000 hectares have been lost in Spain, according to CNN. Reuters reported that more than 300,000 people have been evacuated from France and Spain alone.

Wildfires are also continuing in Turkey, centered on Mugla province along the southwestern Aegean coast, while at least three firefighters died battling blazes on the Greek resort island of Crete.

The fires have now crossed from natural disaster into economic catastrophe.

Evacuation orders in the Bordeaux area of southwestern France have left about 40,000 businesses unable to operate normally, and France's Economy Ministry estimated that roughly 130,000 workers have been unable to report to work, according to Euronews.

Patrick Seguin, president of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, said the region is experiencing "an unprecedented crisis, like during COVID-19," calling it "an economic disaster for our businesses."

Bordeaux draws about 6.5 million tourists a year, but peak-season bookings have fallen nearly 40 percent compared with last year. The wine industry, already struggling from sluggish consumer spending, climate change and US tariffs, has taken an additional blow from the fires.

Defense and aerospace companies with production facilities in southwestern France have also been forced to respond. Dassault Aviation moved critical equipment to other locations, while Airbus Atlantic evacuated employees at the request of authorities.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the region had been "struck by an economic lightning bolt" even as it was already facing economic hardship.

The French government has moved to provide emergency support so that affected businesses can access unemployment benefit programs, and plans to introduce additional relief measures. Forest restoration costs alone are estimated at up to 300 million euros ($346 million).

Climate experts warn that mega fires are not a temporary disaster but a new pattern of destruction shaped by climate change. EU authorities said the total area burned this year could set an all-time record, and that the fire season may extend longer than usual — potentially running into early November. Resco de Dios also cautioned that "it is difficult to predict how far the situation will deteriorate," adding that "it is entirely possible that one fire, or several fires merging, could spread to hundreds of thousands of hectares — even reaching 1 million hectares."