'I moved to France for a taste of Paradise but woke up in an apocalypse'

A decade on the Iberian frontline has shown me that Europe's climate emergency is impossible to deny. Spain has undergone profound changes since I began working as the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent ten years ago. Political movements such as the push for Catalan independence have surged and receded; the pandemic left an indelible mark; and political parties like Podemos and Ciudadanos have risen and fallen. Yet, one transformation stands out, unmistakably, relentlessly, and painfully. The climate emergency has become the defining issue of the era. The facts are clear. Europe is heating faster than anywhere else, at more than double the global average. The Iberian Peninsula, in particular, has emerged as the frontlines of the climate crisis. Wildfires continue to rage in both Spain and France, leading to the evacuation or confinement of approximately 330,000 people since last week. These flames represent just the latest chapter in a growing pattern of environmental catastrophe. The autumn of 2024 serves as a powerful illustration. In late September, I joined photographer Gonçalo Fonseca in exploring the northern Portuguese municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha. We walked through a devastated landscape, blackened trees, burned-out vehicles, and homes reduced to roofless shells. The fires had killed nine people, injured many more, and destroyed over 100,000 hectares of land. Conditions had been extreme: strong winds, dryness, and temperatures exceeding 30°C. This tragedy echoed the catastrophic blazes of 2017, which claimed 66 lives. João Oliveira, head of the civil protection agency in Albergaria-a-Velha, shared a photograph on his phone, a towering wall of grey smoke threatening the town. He described the intensity of the fires as unprecedented. “The amount of energy the fire created, the damage it caused, and the intensity and violence of the fire were something we'd never seen before,” he said. Four weeks later, I visited the eastern Spanish town of Utiel, where devastating floods had struck the Valencia region just 48 hours prior. Over 230 people lost their lives. Streets were lined with ruined homes, overturned vehicles, and a thick layer of muddy debris. People stood stunned, unable to comprehend the scale of destruction. The scene reminded me of the super El Niño-induced disaster in northern Peru in 1998 and the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake in April 2015. However, these kinds of catastrophes are now occurring with alarming regularity in Europe. Helena Smith, the Guardian’s correspondent in Greece, notes that warnings about climate impacts have long been raised in her region. She recalls Eleni Myrivili, now the UN’s global chief heat officer, stating in 2021, “Heat will be the story of the next decade.” That prediction came amid reports of apocalyptic scenes near Athens and descriptions of infernos reminiscent of Dante’s hell. It was unthinkable that things could worsen further. Yet, each year brings new evidence of escalating climate-related crises. The patterns are unmistakable. What was once considered an anomaly is now an annual occurrence. The Iberian Peninsula, once a place of relative stability, now faces recurring threats of extreme weather. The implications extend far beyond the region, signaling a broader shift in the European climate landscape. As the frequency and severity of these events increase, the reality of the climate emergency becomes harder to ignore.