Weather tracker: Why Europe’s wildfires are proving so fierce and difficult to stop

Wildfires are tearing across France and Spain, and this week's Guardian weather tracker explains why they've been so hard to contain. A wet winter followed by a dry spring and repeated record-breaking heatwaves has left vegetation primed to burn, turning grass, pine needles and twigs into tinder that ignites in hours rather than days. The Guardian notes about ninety percent of wildfires are started by human activity, but it's the drought-baked fuel and fierce winds doing the work of spreading them once lit.

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