France and Spain race to control wildfires as more than 250,000 evacuated – live

Meanwhile, in the UK, a blaze in the Cairngorms national park has been described as very serious' by Scotland's first minister

• Tell us: have you been affected by wildfires in Europe?

The French prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, has requested the armed forces to deploy an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft earlier than originally planned to help tackle the major wildfires in Gironde, according to Le Monde.

The French newspaper reported the aircraft's use was not originally expected until the end of the month due to the technical preparations and tests required beforehand.

While the fires raging across forests in France are a dramatic reminder of three successive heatwaves in as many months, the state of the country's rivers provides another, no less worrying insight into the impact of extreme heat supercharged by the climate crisis.

The Loire, France's longest river, is at a historical low, with the flow of some branches, including through the city of Orleans, reduced to a trickle between sandbanks. Two weeks ago, 16% of French rivers were reported to have dried up. A quarter of small streams were stagnant or had disappeared altogether, according to the national low water observatory. There has been little rain since.