In Pictures: Wildfires and droughts ravage Europe as heatwave heads to UK
The heatwave sweeping southern Europe has caused hundreds of deaths and huge wildfires in Spain and Portugal, and is now heading to Britain and the north of the continent, with authorities urging people to act sensibly.
Much of Europe has experienced temperatures reaching into the mid-40s degrees Celsius (over 110F), with wildfires raging across tinder-dry countryside in Portugal, Spain and France.
Spain wildfires
Spain was facing the eighth and last day of a more than week-long heatwave on Monday, which has caused more than 510 heat-related deaths, according to estimates from the Carlos III Health Institute.
With fires burning thousands of hectares in Galicia, Castille and Leon, Catalonia, Extremadura and Andalusia, almost all of Spain faces a extreme fire risk.
More than 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) have burnt in the country so far this year.
Portugal wildfires
In Portugal, temperatures dropped over the weekend, but the risk of wildfires remained very high across most of the country, according to the Portuguese Institute of Meteorology (IPMA).
More than 1,000 firefighters, backed by 285 vehicles and 14 aircraft, were battling nine ongoing wildfires, mainly in the country's northern regions, authorities said.
National emergencies
The UK, Belgium and Germany are among the countries expecting the heatwave to hit them in coming days.
The UK was on course for its hottest day on record on Monday with temperatures forecast to hit 40C (104F) for the first time, forcing train companies to cancel services, schools to close early and ministers to urge the public to stay at home.
After the Met Office issued a red weather warning alert, the UK government triggered a "national emergency" as temperatures were forecast to surpass the 38.7C (102F) recorded in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden in 2019 on Monday and Tuesday.
Dr Nikos Christidis, climate attribution scientist at the Met Office, said the soaring temperatures were evidence of global warming. He said: "We hoped we wouldn't get to this situation but for the first time ever we are forecasting greater than 40C in the UK.
"Climate change has already influenced the likelihood of temperature extremes in the UK. The chances of seeing 40C days in the UK could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence."
Droughts and wildfires in France
In France, wildfires had spread over 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) in the southwestern region of Gironde, and more than 14,000 people have been evacuated, regional authorities said on Sunday afternoon.
More than 1,200 firefighters were trying to control the blazes, the authorities said in a statement.
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France issued red alerts, the highest possible, for several regions, with residents urged "to be extremely vigilant".
Fires in Italy
In Italy, where smaller fires have blazed in recent days, forecasters expect temperatures above 40C in several regions over coming days.
Swiss droughts
Switzerland also suffered the effects of the heatwave. Axpo, the operator of the Beznau nuclear plant, said it on Monday it was forced to reduce output so that it does not overheat the Aare river from which it draws its cooling water.