Southern Europe in July 2026: the most important developments in society
In Southern Europe in July 2026, wildfires and extreme heat dominated. The month opened with Spain and Italy reporting deaths from a June heatwave, with between 1,000 and 2,000 people killed in Spain. On July 10 a fast-moving fire near Almería killed at least 11 people and left 19 missing; by July 15 the toll stood at 13, twelve of them foreigners, including seven Britons. In mid-July blazes in Aragon burned between 12,600 and more than 15,400 hectares, and a fire north of Madrid grew from 13,000 hectares on July 19 to 26,000 on July 20, becoming Spain's largest of the year. On July 23 and 24 Spain declared a national emergency over fires in the Madrid region and Ávila, with more than 10,000 people evacuated in Spain. Firefighting in Spain has cost up to 3.275 billion euros. Fires in France and Spain together forced between 160,000 and more than 300,000 people to flee. By July 29 thousands were returning home as the Madrid threat eased.
The fires spread across the region. Portugal fought a large blaze early in the month and put 15 municipalities at maximum risk. Greece warned of toxic smoke, and three firefighters died there while two others died on Crete. Italy placed 11 cities on red alert as its fourth heatwave of the year began, and the EU said the fire threat was moving east toward Italy and Greece.
Migration and policing drew attention. Spain's regularisation scheme for migrants drew about 1.2 million applications, while the EU's Manfred Weber criticised it. In Bologna, the death of a Moroccan man, Abderrahim Fakir, during a police operation set off protests and clashes in which dozens were hurt; Meloni called for a rigorous investigation and said nothing justified attacks on police. On July 30 thousands of migrants entered Spain's enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, and Spain deployed the military.
The Vatican excommunicated six bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X on July 2 after they consecrated new bishops without the Pope's consent.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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