An unprecedented combination of scorching temperatures and prolonged drought has fuelled some of the worst wildfires Europe has seen in decades, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes across France and Spain in one of the continent's largest evacuation efforts since World War II.
Emergency crews are racing to contain the fires before another spell of extreme heat arrives later this week, threatening to intensify blazes that have already devastated forests, farmland and communities. In southwestern France alone, flames have consumed an area nearly four times the size of Paris, while major fires continue to burn near Madrid in Spain.
