What to know about the wildfires spreading in Spain and France

Key Points:

• Wildfires in southern France and Spain have forced over 300,000 people to evacuate, with fires burning 42,000 hectares in France's Gironde region and 77,000 hectares in Spain's Avila and Toledo areas.
• French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a crisis meeting, and Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez plans to visit affected areas, as the fires continue amid ongoing heatwaves.
• The fires have been described as "historic" and "unprecedented" in scale for France, with nearly 100,000 hectares burned since the start of the year, severely impacting the local economy.
• Experts attribute the increased severity of the wildfires to climate change, poor landscape management, and human-altered environments that have created more flammable forests and vegetation.
• Despite strengthened firefighting efforts, experts emphasize the need for improved land management, better wildfire risk reduction strategies, and enhanced preparedness to effectively address the growing wildfire threat in Europe.