In France and Spain, large wildfires are causing growing damage, with more than 260,000 residents evacuating on the 25th (local time).
According to the French daily Le Figaro, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said at a midday situation briefing that the wildfire that started in the southwest on the 22nd has continued to spread, burning more than 40,000 hectares (ha) to date.
Since the start of the year, the area burned in France has reached about 98,000 ha, the largest on record. As the flames spread to near Bordeaux, 167,000 people evacuated from Gironde and 30,000 from neighboring Landes, for a total of 197,000.
The French government has deployed about 1,000 military personnel and mobilized an A400M military transport aircraft, throwing its full weight behind the firefighting effort, but strong winds and other weather conditions are posing difficulties.
In Spain, a wildfire that broke out west of Madrid has spread, forcing about 70,000 people to evacuate so far. The burned area has reached 25,000 ha, and local authorities said the scale of the fire has exceeded the firefighting brigade's response capacity.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the affected areas and said protecting lives would be the top priority. Sánchez said, "Temperatures have dropped, but because we don't know how the wind will change, the situation will remain complicated for the next few hours," adding, "Climate change is steadily increasing the size and intensity of wildfires."
Since the start of the year, the area burned in Spain has reached 130,000 ha, exceeding the 10-year average. Spain's health authorities urged people to refrain from outdoor activities, saying the concentration of fine particulate matter from the wildfires is far above the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.