Four Climate Frontline grantees for Portugal and Spain

We’re announcing four Climate Frontline grantees. These selected newsrooms from Portugal and Spain will receive tailored training and mentorship from leading climate and media experts, allowing them to improve the accuracy, relevance, and reach of their coverage.

Their work lands in a summer that tested Iberia hard: Portugal set a new June national high of 46.6°C in Mora, and Spain endured its hottest 10-day stretch on record in August, conditions that fed an exceptional wildfire season. Provisional datasets show hundreds of thousands of hectares burned, with Spain suffering its worst fire season in decades.

Independent analyses underscore the stakes: a World Weather Attribution study found the hot, dry, windy weather that primed Spain and Portugal’s fires in 2025 is now around 40× more likely in today’s climate than in a pre-industrial one.

The Climate Frontline project’s collaboration with the four grantees began around one year after one of the deadliest floods in Europe: the DANA in Valencia. Extreme weather events such as the DANA - a Spanish acronym for high-altitude isolated depression - are projected to become more frequent and more intense due to climate change. All this evidence sustains that local climate literacy and accountability reporting are not optional; they are forms of preparedness.

We are announcing Sul Informação and Jornal de Leiria in Portugal, and El Salto Diario and elDiario de la Comunitat Valencianain Spain: four outlets already helping communities make sense of risk, readiness and recovery.

Sul Informação (Portugal)

Sul Informação is an independent, online-only newsroom founded in 2011 and rooted in the Algarve and Alentejo, Sul Informação combines beat-level proximity with a strong public-service brief. In 2025 they tracked maximum fire-risk alerts across more than 140 municipalities (4 August) and reported the return of drought in the south after a very hot, very dry July, contextualised with IPMA’s climatology.

The Algarve is a region already highly affected by the climate changes, which is reflected in the increasingly frequent and long periods of drought but also in the violence and intensity of wildfires.

For us at Sul Informação, reporting on climate hazards is not only a part of the job, it is a mission, as it can raise awareness and help prevent disasters - or, at least, reduce their impact.

The knowledge and tools that we can earn by being part of the Climate Frontline project will be decisive for us to better inform and better fulfill our mission of reporting on climate hazards

-Hugo Rodrigues, project coordinator

Jornal de Leiria (Portugal)

Jornal de Leiria is a weekly regional newspaper serving the Leiria district since 1984, the title pairs on-the-ground reporting with service information. This summer they covered preparedness capacity for the critical fire period and spotlighted early-detection innovation with AI, digital twins and drones tested locally to help prevent and respond to rural fires.

In our country, and particularly in the Leiria region, the memory of the 2017 wildfires still marks entire communities. This tragic event was a stark warning about the risks of the climate emergency. Keeping public attention focused on climate hazards, giving voice to the most vulnerable populations, and mobilizing action towards prevention and change are key contributions that impactful and responsible journalism can provide.

-Francisco Santos, Director

El Salto Diario (Spain)

El Salto Diario is a member-owned cooperative newsroom (launched in 2017) focused on public-interest coverage and data-led context. In 2025 they analysed EFFIS and ministry series to show the season’s scale, placing 2025 among the five worst years by area burned in five decades and connecting the dots with land-management and social vulnerability.

Journalism often focuses on action, but in front of climate hazard, rigorous information accompanies communities in every phase: it anticipates risks, prepares the population, and reduces human and material impact. Ultimately, its role aims to save lives.

-Lluna Bartual Sambartolomé, Contributing editor

elDiario.es de la Comunitat Valenciana (Spain)

elDiario.es is a member-supported digital newsroom founded in 2012, known for live accountability coverage and explainers. Their 2025 wildfire coverage included real-time liveblogs establishing the highest number of large wildfires in a decade and a data special mapping active fires and burned areas using NASA/EFFIS feeds to help readers track risk as it evolved.

After the floods in Valencia on 29 October 2024, it became clear that extreme weather events exacerbated by global warming can be catastrophic for citizens. 228 people died in our region.

It is essential to report accurately on climate change so that citizens are aware that the situation is real, dangerous and must be combated.

During the floods and the days that followed, we suffered a great deal of rumours and fake news designed to confuse the population and attack scientific institutions. The media played a key role in debunking these lies and pointing the finger at those politicians who were truly responsible.

-Sergi Pitarch, Director

Hero photo by Anastasiia Krutota on Unsplash