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In recent years, summer is no longer synonymous with carefree relaxation. Across Europe, forest fires are multiplying: France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, but also Germany and the Nordic countries are now affected. In recent years, summer is no longer synonymous with carefree relaxation. Across Europe, forest fires are multiplying: France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, but also Germany and the Nordic countries are now affected. Since January 2025, some 360.000 hectares of forest have already burnt in the European Union, according to the Copernicus observatory. The impact is far from negligible: thousands of people have been evacuated, homes and heritage sites destroyed, agroforestry ecosystems lost while carbon emissions soared.

A direct or indirect consequence of global warming, these fires are fuelled by extreme temperatures, violent winds and vegetation made highly flammable by drought. Every time they intervene, firefighters and volunteers are on the front line, taking considerable risks to protect people, property and the environment. Their commitment and sense of duty earn them deep respect.

Faced with this growing threat, Europe is deploying new strategies to better prevent and monitor these disasters. The SENWISE project (New Sentinel Missions for Optimized Wildfire Hazard, Forestry and Agriculture Monitoring), funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and coordinated by SPACEBEL, is a perfect example of innovation at the service of people and environmental protection. The aim is to prepare the future Copernicus CHIME, Rose-L and LSTM satellite missions to optimise applications in agriculture, forestry and wildfire risk management.

Since the end of October 2024, several European partners have brought their expertise together around SPACEBEL - each contributing specific know-how to ensure the success of the initiative:

• Centre Spatial de Liège (Belgium)
• CRA-W (Belgium)
• Diginove (France)
• Entente Valabre (France)
• EURAC (Italy)

In April this year, SENWISE successfully passed a decisive milestone. The first key stage of the project was validated with flying colours: common methodologies were defined by all the partners, marking a major step forward. The ESA gave the green light to the deliverable, without any major corrections. The highlight of the meeting was the presentation by Entente Valabre, whose message on data of operational interest made a strong impression on the ESA. A great endorsement of the value of SENWISE in the field!
Next step: the project's second milestone in October.

Following the recent fires in Aude (France), where an area the size of Paris was reduced to ashes, Entente Valabre has already drawn some valuable lessons. Its analyses will be used to refine the solutions developed as part of SENWISE and to improve the fight against forest fires on a European scale.