Less than halfway into the year, numerous regions in the northern hemisphere have already exceeded their average yearly burned areas.

Around 74,000 acres (nearly 30,000 hectares) have already burned in the United Kingdom since the beginning of 2025, the most acres burned in a year since record keeping began in 2012, according to data from the Global Wildfire Information System. Other nations, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, and Ireland, have also seen more acres burned this year than their 2012-2024 burned area average.

 “These figures paint a concerning picture about the growing incident rate of wildfires in the UK,” a spokesperson from the UK’s National Fire Chiefs Council said in a press release. “Responding to wildfires requires a lot of resource and often over long periods of time, which puts pressure on other fire and rescue service activities.”

Greece, which saw its highest number of annual burned acres in 2023 at 418,089 acres (169,195 hectares), is preparing for a “troubling” wildfire season in 2025 by mobilizing its largest-ever firefighting force.

The nation’s Fire Brigade now has more than 18,000 permanent and seasonal firefighters, compared with its previous largest brigade at 15,500 in 2022. The Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection also added 270 firefighting vehicles to its fleet, reaching a total of 3,700.

“Our collective goal is to reduce the number of fire outbreaks, swiftly contain those that occur, and adopt a holistic approach to large-scale fires,” Greece’s Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Giannis Kefalogiannis told the Greek City Times. “Climate change requires our unwavering attention and preparedness.”

Other European countries which usually see very active wildfire seasons are off to slow starts, with relatively mild amount of burned hectares since the year’s beginning, including:

• Italy has only had 4,970 hectares burn this year compared to their 151,000 hectare average.
• Spain has had 15,837 hectares burn this year compared to the 151,000 hectare average.
• Portugal has had 6,234 of its 113,000 average.
• France has had 17,000 out of its 44,000 average.

Other nations are facing severe firefighting shortages heading into peak season. India is reportedly facing a firefighting deficit of around 1.5 million firefighters compared with global standards, according to reporting from the Indian Express.

Japan, which saw its largest wildfire in over 30 years in February, is also facing a significant shortage of volunteer firefighters. The nation’s numbers have fallen from nearly 2 million in 1956 to 746,681 in 2024, a 60% reduction, according to the Japan news site Nippon.