Pine-cone grenades and planet-baking carbon: the French fires 170 years in the making – a visual guide

This summer's devastating fires in France scorched unprecedented amounts of land and forced the largest displacement of people since World War II. Scientists are investigating the possibility of a firestorm thundercloud forming over the Gironde region, a terrifying atmospheric event fueled by extreme heat.

The smoke from the largest inferno in nearly 80 years blanketed cities hundreds of miles away, exposing residents to toxic dust levels exceeding those in Delhi during severe smog days. The blaze, which raged through forests near Bordeaux in late July, dramatically reshaped France's relationship with fire in mere weeks.

However, the conditions ripe for such destruction were centuries in the making. A 1857 decree aimed at draining swamps and establishing monoculture tree plantations laid the groundwork. This historical land management practice, combined with the escalating impacts of global heating, created a tinderbox environment. The accumulation of detritus from these dense, single-species forests provided ample fuel for the catastrophic fires.