France and Spain brace for fresh heatwave as warnings issued over risk of new wildfires – Europe live

And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today .

France and Spain are on high alert as the fourth heatwave of the summer complicates ongoing efforts to tackle devastating wildfires in both countries.

Authorities expressed cautious optimism after making some progress in battling the blazes overnight ( 10:15 , 14:30 , 15:02 ), but warned against complacency as worsening weather conditions raised fears of some fires reigniting in the coming hours as temperatures are expected to hit high 30s and low 40s C.

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said this morning that next 12 hours will be “decisive” for a large wildfire burning near Madrid ( 11:41 ).

Serious wildfires were also reported in other countries in Europe ( 15:23 ) , with two firefighters killed battling a wildfire on the southern Greek island of Crete ( 16:56 ).

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