Satellite captures massive extent of deadly wildfires in Spain, France. See pics

Copernicus satellite images have laid bare the scale of deadly wildfires across Spain and France. The imagery and smoke data are helping authorities track the blazes as heat and drought worsen conditions.

In Short

• More than 90,000 people were evacuated from Ávila over the weekend
• EU mapping service is guiding evacuations and firefighting with real-time data
• Near-infrared sensors identified active fire fronts as bright landscape hotspots

Satellite images from Europe's Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission have revealed the staggering scale of the deadly wildfires sweeping across Spain and France, where hundreds of thousands of hectares have been scorched and thousands of people forced to flee their homes.

The latest Sentinel-2 image, captured on July 26, provides a wide view of the wildfire-ravaged landscape west of Madrid.

The imagery highlights the extensive burn scars around the historic city of vila, about 100 kilometres northwest of the Spanish capital, one of the worst-hit regions in the country's largest wildfire outbreak in recent history.

Authorities evacuated more than 90,000 people from the vila region over the weekend as flames, driven by extreme heat, dry vegetation and strong winds, spread rapidly across forests and rural communities.

Firefighters continue to battle multiple active fronts as officials warn that high temperatures could further complicate containment efforts.

To support emergency responders, the European Union activated the Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service on July 23.

The satellite-based system is providing real-time maps of fire perimeters, burned areas and affected infrastructure, helping authorities coordinate evacuations and firefighting operations.

The Sentinel-2 satellite's near-infrared sensors have been used to clearly identify active fire fronts, which appear as bright hotspots against the surrounding landscape.

Equipped with a multispectral imaging system featuring 13 spectral bands, Sentinel-2 can detect vegetation stress, monitor fire progression and assess damage with remarkable precision.

Meanwhile, data from the Sentinel-5P satellite has revealed elevated aerosol concentrations over southwestern Europe, showing how thick smoke from the fires has spread hundreds of kilometres beyond the burn zones, affecting air quality across large parts of the region.

The wildfire season has already reached alarming proportions. Since the beginning of the year, more than 1,254 wildfires have been detected across the affected regions, burning over 2,50,000 hectares of land. The blazes have destroyed forests, farmland and wildlife habitats while placing enormous pressure on emergency services.

Scientists say prolonged drought, repeated heatwaves and rising temperatures linked to climate change are creating ideal conditions for larger and more destructive wildfires across southern Europe.

They warn that fire seasons are becoming longer, more intense and increasingly difficult to control.

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