Another wildfire season is unfolding across the globe as record-breaking temperatures continue to fuel extreme fire conditions. Hundreds of wildfires have erupted across the United States and Canada, while Europe has experienced a record fire season marked by large-scale evacuations in France and Spain.
Across the Mediterranean region and the Arab world, the growing threat of wildfires is increasingly linked to the impacts of climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the countries of North Africa are among the Arab regions most vulnerable to wildfires due to the extensive Mediterranean forests that cover large parts of their landscapes.
These events serve as a reminder that wildfires are no longer isolated seasonal incidents, but an escalating challenge that requires an integrated response combining nature-based solutions with advanced technology.
Why Do Wildfires Occur?
الأكثر قراءة
Most wildfires result from a combination of factors, led by climate change, which prolongs drought periods, raises nighttime temperatures, dries out vegetation, and significantly increases fire risk. Human activities including negligence, arson, and sparks generated by machinery also remain major causes.
Another contributing factor is the accumulation of large amounts of forest fuel, such as dead branches and dry vegetation. Decades of aggressive fire suppression have prevented naturally occurring low-intensity fires, allowing combustible material to build up and leaving forests increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.
Fire as a Natural Ecological Process
Modern wildfire management increasingly embraces the idea of restoring fire's natural ecological role through prescribed burning, also known as controlled burning.
Practiced by Indigenous communities for centuries, this approach involves intentionally setting small, carefully managed fires to remove dry brush, fallen leaves, and other combustible vegetation. It also includes clearing dense shrubs and flammable plants, helping create healthier, less crowded forests that are more resistant to large-scale fires.
In parts of the United States and Canada, Indigenous communities have reintroduced regular prescribed burning, improving forest resilience, restoring ecological balance, and enhancing biodiversity. Managed grazing is also used to reduce dry vegetation. These nature-based solutions are relatively inexpensive and sustainable, although they require public acceptance and careful planning for successful implementation.
Technology on the Front Line
Technology focuses primarily on early detection and rapid response.
Around the world, artificial intelligence is increasingly being deployed to combat wildfires. High-resolution cameras installed on mountain peaks continuously monitor forests for smoke and automatically alert firefighting teams and emergency authorities, enabling fires to be contained while they are still small.
Hilary Franz, former Commissioner of Public Lands at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, noted that AI-powered wildfire detection systems have helped reduce the area burned across Washington over the past three years. Similar systems are now operating in 17 U.S. states, as well as in Canada and Australia.
Other technologies include wireless sensors attached to trees that detect fire-related gases within minutes, and thermal satellites capable of identifying wildfires at night or through dense smoke.
Robotics is also playing an increasingly important role. Robots are now being used to conduct highly controlled prescribed burns that safely eliminate dry vegetation. In California, robots developed by BurnBot have reduced the time required to complete controlled burns from approximately two weeks to just three days, according to the company's official website.
While these technologies have proven effective in reducing burned areas through early intervention, they remain costly and require continuous maintenance and close human coordination.
How Are Arab Countries Preparing?
Across North Africa, countries have adopted varying approaches to wildfire prevention.
Following devastating wildfire seasons in 2024 and 2025, Algeria adopted a more proactive strategy by deploying firefighting aircraft, helicopters, smart surveillance cameras, and drones for early detection, while also strengthening penalties for arson.
Morocco is increasingly relying on satellite monitoring and Earth observation data to track vegetation changes and surface temperatures. This enables authorities to identify high-risk areas and issue early warnings while providing relatively low-cost monitoring across vast territories.
Meanwhile, Lebanon launched a National Wildfire Risk Management Strategy in 2025 aimed at improving landscape resilience and reducing wildfire risks. The strategy emphasizes early warning systems, local coordination, forest restoration, and sustainable land management practices. The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the United Nations and supported by the World Bank and local communities.
A Smarter Way Forward
Despite significant progress in several countries, major challenges remain, including high implementation costs, limited coordination among responsible agencies, and the continued impacts of climate change, which are making hot seasons longer, drier, and more dangerous.
Combining nature-based solutions with advanced technologies while strengthening regional cooperation, sharing expertise, investing in early wildfire detection systems, and raising public awareness
offers one of the most effective paths toward reducing wildfire risks.
Looking ahead, this integrated approach could transform the growing threat of wildfires into an opportunity to restore forests that are healthier, more resilient, and better equipped to withstand a changing climate.
