Earth-observing satellites help track the spread of fires and support emergency crews battling the blazes on the ground.
ESA published this original article on August 20, 2025. Edits by EarthSky.
Southern Europe is once again in the grip of extreme summer heat. Soaring temperatures and bone-dry land have fueled widespread wildfires, with the Iberian Peninsula among the regions hardest hit. Flames continue to sweep across parched landscapes, as these images show.
With this in mind, Earth-observing satellites offer a unique way of tracking the spread of fires from orbit and supporting emergency crews battling the blazes on the ground. The images featured here reveal the scale of the crisis. Dense smoke plumes from several fires stretch across large areas of northwest Spain and northern Portugal.
To assist, the European Union's Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service has been activated for several of these Iberian Peninsula wildfires. In addition, it's also assisted recent blazes in other parts of Europe. This service uses satellite imagery and other geospatial data. The service produces free, rapid-response maps for disaster situations worldwide. These are vital tools that help emergency organizations coordinate their response, support recovery and plan for future risks.
While the service is currently mostly using very-high-resolution satellite images to respond to the fires in Spain and Portugal, the Copernicus Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-2 missions provide a broader overview. They deliver consistent, wide-scale monitoring of fire activity and its impact across the region.
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission captured the image at top on August 17, 2025. As can be seen, smoke billowing from fires in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula dominates this wide view of France, Spain and Portugal.
In addition, thick plumes of smoke drift north and east under prevailing winds. Then, they merge with cloud systems over the Atlantic. The smoke also blankets large portions of the Bay of Biscay. Some of this northbound smoke is also being blown back over Spain's Mediterranean coast.
Wildfires like these endanger lives and devastate wildlife, habitats, agriculture and property. But they also severely degrade air quality, compounding their impact on human health.
The map below spans southern Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and across to the Black Sea. It shows fire hotspots (above) and concentrations of atmospheric carbon monoxide (below). This image is also from August 17. To be sure, breathing air polluted with carbon monoxide can cause significant health problems.
Data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) can categorize the hotspots by radiative. This tool is aboard the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 satellites.
Data from the European Commission's Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) created the carbon monoxide map. Largely based on satellite data, CAMS provides information related to air pollution and health, solar energy, greenhouse gases and climate forcing around the world. The current Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite and the newly-launched Copernicus Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 instruments are key to providing such data.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured the image below on August 16. It's a false-color view that uses the satellite's shortwave-infrared channel to highlight active fires in northeast Portugal and northwest Spain.
The immediate priority in any wildfire crisis is to extinguish the flames and protect communities. The longer-term challenge, however, is that such events are expected to become more frequent and intense as the climate crisis deepens.
Fire is an Essential Climate Variable. It plays a critical role in the Earth system by influencing atmospheric composition, carbon cycles and ecosystems. To better understand and monitor these dynamics, ESA harnesses satellite observations through its Climate Change Initiative Fire Project and its new XFires Project.
The design of the Climate Change Initiative is to generate consistent, long-term global datasets of Essential Climate Variables that provide robust evidence of our changing climate, supporting both scientific research and international policy frameworks such as the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. These projects are helping to improve predictions, guide adaptation strategies, and strengthen our collective response to a warming world.
Bottom line: See a satellite view from space showing the Iberian Peninsula wildfires and the smoke that is degrading air quality in the region.