Children born in Europe today are expected to face nearly twice as much extreme fire weather as their grandparents, according to new research published in Environmental Research Letters. A child born in 2025 will experience more than three additional years of extreme fire conditions compared to someone born in 1950, if current climate policies remain unchanged. This represents an 84% increase in exposure, with 86% of the rise linked to climate change and 14% due to increased life expectancy. The Mediterranean region, particularly southern Europe, is projected to see the most significant increase, with people born in 2025 facing up to 2.5 times more extreme fire weather than those born in 1950, translating to over five additional years of exposure. The study is based on a climate scenario in which global temperatures rise by 2.6°C by 2100, as expected under current policies. However, reducing fossil fuel use could significantly cut this risk. If emissions are rapidly reduced, lifetime exposure to extreme fire weather for children born in 2025 could decrease by an average of 1.3 years across Europe, and more than two years in the most affected regions of southern Europe. Fires have already intensified in recent years, with 2025 recording the largest area burned in Europe—over 1 million hectares—with Spain and Portugal being the worst affected. This year has seen devastating impacts in France, Spain, and Belgium, driven by repeated heatwaves that studies suggest would have been nearly impossible without climate change. Portugal has experienced the highest proportion of its territory burned in recent decades, and in 2020, six Portuguese youths filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, accusing European countries of failing to take adequate action on climate change. The study projects that extreme fire weather days in Portugal will more than double, from an average of 14 days per year in the 1950–1970 period to 32 days per year by 2100 under current policies. A child born in Portugal in 2025 is expected to live through about 6.5 years of extreme fire weather, with some regions in northeastern Portugal facing up to 2.5 times more exposure than those born in 1950. Each additional degree of global warming by 2100 adds around 272 days of extreme fire weather to a Portuguese child’s lifetime. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, could reduce lifetime exposure for young people across Europe, cutting it by more than a year for children born in Portugal in 2025. Fire weather refers to hot, dry, and windy conditions that increase the likelihood of fires starting, spreading rapidly, and being difficult to control. Climate change, driven largely by fossil fuel use, has made these conditions more frequent and severe, pushing fire risk into new seasons and regions. The study highlights an intergenerational injustice, as young people—who have contributed the least to historical greenhouse gas emissions—are expected to bear the brunt of future fire hazards while being asked to take on much of the responsibility for reducing emissions. Researchers emphasize that the faster emissions are reduced, the less risk future generations will face.