The weather conditions over the past 24 hours, with decreasing winds and lower temperatures, have brought some relief in the fight against the fires - but new heatwaves are on the horizon in both France and Spain.
But temperatures are expected to rise again on Tuesday, and on Wednesday they could reach 40 degrees in both southwest France and the Madrid region.
“The risk will rise to extreme levels,” warns Spain's national weather agency.
For firefighters, the next 24 hours are crucial. In southwestern France, the fire service says its personnel are under heavy pressure:
"This is the biggest disaster in France. We are tired, the staff is exhausted," said Wilfried Schneider of the fire service, reports Le Figaro.
Extreme heat and extreme fires
Emmanuel Macron promises support for the firefighting effort, but also warns that "tomorrow will undoubtedly be more difficult."
We will win the battle together, we will do everything in our power, he says in Bordeaux, where he met firefighters and rescue workers during the evening.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez points to global warming as an underlying cause of the massive fires, describing the situation as "the most painful expression of a climate crisis."
"It is no longer the exception that confirms the rule, it is more the rule than the exception," Sánchez said during a meeting in Madrid, AFP writes.
The fires are linked to the early, record-breaking summer and subsequent recurring heatwaves, and it is currently very dry in forests and soil in southern Europe.
EU sends reinforcements
According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, 30 to 40 forest fires are currently being fought in the country and conditions are “very unfavorable” in several places.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is sending additional firefighting aircraft to France. "We currently have nine aircraft assets on site, tomorrow we will have eleven," EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib wrote in a statement.
Major evacuations
Around 350,000 people have been evacuated in total in Spain and France. Tourists are advised against travelling to the regions. In the Madrid region alone, around 90,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.
The fires raging in Ávila and Madrid are not “fully under control,” El País reports. On Sunday, Spain’s civil defence chief, Virginia Barcones, said the country was fighting “a monster.”
The fire is not under control in Gironde in southwestern France either.
"We have stabilised a situation that was completely unstable, but we still do not have control of the fire," the fire service writes on social media.
