European Wildfires: Greek PM talks of 'nightmare' as 1,000 fire fighters deployed to battle flames
- Published
A number of countries have offered assistance in tackling the fires
The prime minister of Greece has described the summer as "nightmarish" as wildfires continue to threaten large areas of the country.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes, while more than 1,000 firefighters have been sent to trying and bring the flames under contrl.
Authorities have warned that there is a further risk of fires, including around the capital Athens and on the island of Crete.
Greece is currently experiencing its worst heatwave in more than 30 year.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that the government's priority is "to protect human lives".
In the last 10 days, more than 56,000 hectares (140,000 acres) have been burnt in Greece, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
Many countries have offered help, with fire-fighters from countries including the UK, France, Romanis and Switzerland travelling to the country to support efforts to control the flames.
More than 2,000 people have been evacuated from the Greek island of Evia by ferry
Wildfires threaten across Europe
In Turkey, authorities have been struggling to contain a number of blazes, which have been described by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the country's worst wildfires.
Tens of thousands of hectares have been destroyed in Mediterranean and Aegean provinces.
Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.