Over 10,000 people have been forced to leave the Gironde region in the south-west of France in the past few days. Dozens of wildfires are burning in Portugal and Spain where temperatures are above 40C. There have been at least 281 deaths related to the heatwave in the two countries. 

A few towns in western Spain have been evacuated in addition to towns in France. The heatwaves in Europe have become more frequent, intense and longer-lasting due to climate change. Firefighters in Spain fought to protect Monsagro from fires south in the Monfagüe national park and over 4,000 residents in south-west France, south west of Bordeaux, have been evacuated. 73 square kilometers of opine forest has burned down in recent days, however, forecasters are expecting temperatures to begin to fall on Friday.

Read more: Thousands escape wildfires in France, Spain and Greece