French authorities have ordered the evacuation of almost 60,000 people near Bordeaux, taking the total number of people told to flee wildfires in France and Spain to more than 220,000. Around 200,000 people have been evacuated in south-west France in the Gironde and Landes regions. French President Emmanuel Macron has mobilised the military to assist the response.

Meanwhile, a fire near Madrid is "beyond the capacity" of firefighters to contain, Spanish officials have warned, after three fires west of the capital merged into a single blaze. Spain's government has declared a national emergency, with 25,000 people told to evacuate. Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described it as the "worst fire in the history of the region". Carlos Novillo, the Madrid regional government's emergency management chief, said the wildfire is at its peak and beyond containment capacity.

In south-west France, the Gironde blaze, described by local prefect Sophie Brocas as an "XXL fire", has burned through more than 19,000 hectares of forest and destroyed about 80 homes. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the blaze was "self-sustaining" and changing direction. President Macron said France had activated the EU's civil protection mechanism.

The European Union has deployed aircraft and helicopters to support firefighting efforts, as much of southern Europe grapples with repeated heatwaves and prolonged drought. Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average since the 1980s. Hotter, drier conditions are leaving vegetation with less moisture, creating fuel that enables wildfires to ignite and spread more quickly.