More than 1.000 people evacuated in Spain due to fires, three people killed in France and Germany due to storms...

Firefighters, supported by 30 aircraft, were today trying to bring a large forest fire in northeastern Spain under control.

More than 1.000 people were evacuated due to the fire.

A large fire in the Aragon region has spread to more than 12.000 hectares, and around 300 members of the military emergency units and several helicopters are participating in extinguishing it.

Firefighting operation in Farasdues, in the Aragon region of Spain: Photos from July 16th

The Spanish meteorological service warned that temperatures would rise again from Saturday, and that parts of Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha could reach between 42 and 44 degrees Celsius next week. At the same time, a warning was issued for an extreme risk of forest fires due to the influx of hot, dry air from North Africa.

Firefighters are also battling fires near Madrid and in the province of Guadalajara, where about 1.500 hectares have burned, and a summer camp has been evacuated as a precaution. Just a week ago, a fire in Almeria killed at least 13 people.

High temperatures and multiple heat waves have dried out vegetation across Europe, increasing the risk of fires, droughts and damage to agriculture. Scientists link much of the extreme weather to climate change.

According to data from the Reuters Climate Monitor, the average maximum temperature in Western Europe today was around 27,5 degrees Celsius, which is 4,2 degrees higher than the average for July 17 in the period from 1961 to 1990.

In France, a drought has been worsening since late May, while high temperatures are also causing problems in the energy sector. A gas-fired power plant in the south of the country is facing a possible outage due to warm seas that are making it difficult to cool the plant.

In Germany, low water levels on the Rhine have made shipping difficult and increased transportation costs, although recent rainfall has somewhat improved the situation.

In parts of Europe where heat waves had passed, they were replaced by severe storms. In France and Germany, three people died due to the storms.

In central and eastern France, two people were killed by falling trees, while in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, one person was killed by lightning.

A powerful supercell storm hit the area around Stuttgart, bringing strong gusts of wind and hail up to five centimeters in size. Drivers took shelter under overpasses to protect themselves from the storm.

In northeastern Germany, firefighters are still battling a blaze in the Miritc National Park, which has been burning for almost a week. Their work is being hampered by the presence of unexploded ordnance at a former military training ground.

Photos from Miritc National Park

Due to the high risk of fires, enhanced measures have also been introduced in the wider Athens area, where forests are being monitored by drones with thermal cameras, while water tankers have been deployed near campsites.

The World Health Organization has warned that Europe is facing another deadly heatwave, saying that the heatwave in late June caused almost 10.000 more deaths than usual. It has urged governments to treat extreme heat as a health threat, not just a meteorological one.