PARIS - The main events on Friday are wildfires raging in southern Europe.
The area of land burnt so far this year in European Union countries is the second largest on record, according to satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
The blazes are breaking out faster because of drought made more severe by human-fueled climate change, the World Weather Attribution group said in a study published this week.
19,000 affected in Madrid region
At least 19,000 people in the Madrid region have been evacuated or ordered to remain in their houses, the head of the regional's government, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said.
Wildfires around the Spanish capital are the worst in the region's history, she told reporters, adding that the flames had ravaged some 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres).
More than 430 elderly people and disabled people have been evacuated from five care homes in the region.
Officials said later Friday that the two fires raging west of Madrid had merged, threatening Navas del Rey, a town some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Spanish capital.
EU planes
The European Union said it was deploying four specialised water-bombing planes to Spain and three to France to help fight the fires there after the two countries requested assistance.
40,000 evacuated in France
Some 40,000 people have been evacuated in southwestern France due to a wildfire that has ravaged more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) and is now "the largest fire of the season," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told AFP.
"A total of 80 homes have burnt, around 50 of which have been completely destroyed," he said, adding that there had been no casualties reported so far.
32 fires burning in France
France currently has 32 active wildfires of varying intensity, the interior minister said.
"We have passed the threshold of 50,000 hectares that have burned since January 1 of this year," said Nunez, adding that the figure was nearly three times that of last year.
'Dramatic' situation
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government had deployed "all available resources" to fight the fires.
"We are living through a dramatic situation, not only in various Spanish provinces but also in regions of neighbouring countries," he wrote on X.
Hundreds flee by boat in France
Hundreds of people fled by boat from the Cap Ferret peninsula in western France on Friday, as authorities ordered it evacuated in the face of a rapidly advancing wildfire.
The blaze had devoured an area nearly twice the size of Manhattan by Friday morning.
- Article by AFP