Extreme heat waves, wildfires continue to strain Southern Europe

Southern Europe continues to battle with extreme heat waves and wildfires on Tuesday.

The weather service Meteo-France has issued a red alert for 14 departments in southern France until Wednesday as the temperatures increased up to 42C (107.6F).

While the heat wave is expected to last in the following days, the risk of fire also remains.

Spain has been grappling with dozens of wildfires, which have scorched thousands of hectares and forced thousands of people to spend the night outside their homes, especially in cities of Castile, Leon, Cadiz, and in several residential areas north of Madrid, according to the daily El Pais.

The fire that broke out in a municipality in Madrid killed one person and burned around 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) before being contained.

The country's Interior Ministry declared the pre-emergency plan due to active fires.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency also issued a red alert as temperatures in several regions are expected to reach up to 44C (111F).

In Portugal, over 1,700 firefighters have been battling four separate fires across the country on Tuesday, the broadcaster RTP reported.

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere extended the orange heat alert till Thursday as some regions' temperatures are expected to reach up to 44C (111F).

Since the beginning of 2025, wildfires in Portugal have burned 42,000 hectares of land, an area roughly five times the size of the capital Lisbon.

Greece and Albania have also been dealing with the ongoing wildfires in several regions.

More than 350,000 hectares have been burned across Europe since the beginning of the year, with at least 1,478 fires detected so far, according to the European Forest Fires Information System.