Failing to tackle climate change will mean more wildfires ahead

France’s biggest wildfire this summer was spreading quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near the Spanish border after leaving one person dead, authorities said. The fire had burned an area larger than Paris. French Prime Minister François Bayrou deplored a “disaster on an unprecedented scale” in the region. Over 2,100 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battled the blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural, wooded area that is home to wineries. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24’s Delano D’Souza welcomes Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Professor Emeritus of Climatology and Environmental Sciences at the Université catholique de Louvain.