Spanish firefighters are battling a forest fire near the city of Tarragona in the country's northeastern parts. The flames have consumed 2,300 hectares of land and thousands of people are being urged by the authorities to stay at home.
In video clips on social media, large clouds of smoke can be seen rising into the sky, while trees and land appear to be burning uncontrollably.
Winds of up to 25 meters per second are making the extinguishing work more difficult, which has been going on throughout the night, according to the rescue service.
The fires come just days after a heatwave swept across southern Europe. In the village of Granado in Andalusia, 46 degrees were measured at the end of June.
Spain's weather agency reported last week that a new heat record had been set for June. The average temperature was 23.6 degrees – 0.8 degrees above the previous June record, which was set in 2017.
The airport in Marseille in southern France has been closed since lunchtime on Tuesday, according to French media. No flights are allowed to take off or land.
Another fire is raging in France, near the Spanish border. Just like the forest fire in Spain, it covers around 2,000 hectares of land. More than a thousand firefighters have worked throughout the night to Tuesday to combat the flames.
The fire started at a vineyard just south of the city of Narbonne and then spread quickly due to strong winds.
