Between fire and ashes: Portugal's silent cry

July didn't just bring sunshine and tourists to Portugal. It brought, once again, hell. Forest fires are ravaging the country from north to south, fueled by extreme temperatures that reached 46.6°C in Mora on June 29th, a historic record for the month, according to the IPMA (National Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources). According to the ICNF (National Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), more than 29,000 hectares had burned by the end of July, with 4,631 fires recorded, many of them large.

Even before summer reached its peak, the alarm was already echoing across the parched fields, weakened forests, and torrid air. We know what's coming, but we pretend we don't. This denial is the invisible fuel that fuels the infernal cycle. This vicious cycle is no longer a surprise to anyone. The signs that Portugal's climate is changing are clear and were announced with rigorous scientific advance notice. However, the government's response remains insufficient and reactive. We invest more in putting out fires than in preventing them, and more in emergency responses than in structural prevention and adaptation policies.

While the government invests millions in extinguishing fires, it skimps on policies that could prevent them. Portugal prefers to be a last-minute firefighter rather than an architect of resilience. With ineffective forest management, invasive species that fuel the flames, and the absence of sustainable agricultural strategies, Portugal is becoming a breeding ground for disaster. Despite the creation of the Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management (AGIF) and the National Plan for Integrated Rural Fire Management (PNGIFR) 20-30, results on the ground remain limited by the fragmentation of responsibilities among ministries, municipalities, and private entities.

Local authorities, often lacking technical and financial resources, face difficulties in implementing fuel management zones and enforcing forestry legislation. At the same time, excessive centralization and slow allocation of European funds for prevention create a barrier between political will and concrete action.

At the parliamentary level, proposals to reform the forestry management model and promote indigenous species have made timid progress, often hampered by lobbies associated with the pulp sector, whose business model depends on eucalyptus, a highly flammable species.

Thus, Portugal continues to prioritize immediate firefighting, investing more in emergency aerial resources (such as the approximately €75 million per year in the Special Rural Firefighting Device (DECIR)) than in long-term measures. The consequence is a country permanently in "crisis mode," without a robust climate adaptation strategy.

Extreme heat waves, like those ravaging the country, are no longer isolated events. They are the new "normal" imposed by global climate change, which Portugal, in turn, feels particularly intensely due to its geographic location and vulnerability. The combination of intense heat and prolonged drought creates a perfect scenario for devastating fires, which threaten lives, property, ecosystems, and the economy.

The most vulnerable population suffers the most: isolated elderly people, people with health problems, and unprotected rural communities. During the last heat wave, between June 27th and July 3rd, Portugal recorded between 227 and 284 excess deaths, especially among people over 85. These numbers are a silent cry about the fragility of our health systems and civil protection in the face of the new climate "normal."

More than ever, a profound transformation in the way we manage land, forests, and our environmental policies is urgently needed. It's essential to rethink forest management, prioritizing native and less flammable species, improve surveillance and early firefighting, and promote sustainable agriculture that contributes to soil conservation and risk reduction. Furthermore, it's imperative to adapt public and private infrastructure to withstand these extreme temperatures. It's necessary to guarantee access to air-conditioned spaces for at-risk groups, strengthen the resilience of the electricity grid, and prepare buildings and equipment for potential crisis scenarios. Local communities must also be empowered with training, resources, and active participation in land management, as collective resilience is also built from the ground up.

This crisis is not a matter of luck, nor a punishment of fate. It is the direct result of decades of neglect and a lack of political will to address climate change. Portugal has the resources, the knowledge, and the capacity to act; at this moment, all that's missing is the courage to do what's necessary.

The fire that is consuming our forests is also a fire that is consuming our credibility as a country that knows how to plan for the future. If we don't change course now, we will be condemning future generations to live in a country marked by destruction, loss, and powerlessness.

Portugal deserves more than this annual tragedy. It deserves a real, effective, and urgent commitment to prevention, adaptation, and the protection of life. Because, if the fire is burning in our forests, it is also burning in our conscience, and that flame can only be extinguished through action.