Local officials in Germany were planning more evacuations on Tuesday as forest fires tore through the east of the country in the wake of punishing heatwave.

Authorities in the eastern region of Saxony triggered a "disaster alert" in the Bad Schandau area, as wildfires spread through the Saxon Switzerland National Park.

Scientists say climate change is making heatwaves around the world more frequent and more intense, which increases the risk of fires.

The alarm was due to the "continuing terrible forest fire situation" in the park, which is close to the border with the Czech Republic, officials said.

The fire broke out on the Czech side of the border in the twin Bohemian Switzerland National Park. Czech authorities evacuated dozens of people from the area on Monday.

The cross-border park is home to rare species such as the Eurasian lynx and the peregrine falcon.

Forest fires were also raging in the neighbouring region of Brandenburg, to the north of Saxony. Officials declared a "disaster situation" there on Monday afternoon.

Authorities in the Elbe-Elstar area said they were planning further evacuations on Tuesday as the blaze spread. They have already removed around 700 people from the surrounding zone.

Officials said it was "not clear yet when the fire will be under control" but warned it could take several days.

Around 350 people were involved in fighting the blaze, which had spread to cover 850 hectares (2,100 acres), the officials said.

Two killed in Morocco forest fires
Larache, Morocco (AFP) July 26, 2022 –

Two women died in forest fires in a region of northern Morocco that had already been ravaged by wildfires this month, authorities said on Tuesday.

The latest deaths, from smoke inhalation, took to four the number of people killed in wildfires that have hit Larache province since mid-July.

The two women "did not respond to calls from local authorities to evacuate homes threatened by the fires", the authorities told AFP.

On Monday, a volunteer firefighter died and another was injured in a forest blaze in the northern province of Tanouate, near Fez and Meknes.

Another fatality caused by fire occurred in Larache province in mid-July.

Forest fires have devastated thousands of hectares (acres) of land this month, and forced the evacuation of more than 700 families from about a dozen villages since Monday.

Four fires were still burning late Tuesday in the Larache region.

According to agriculture minister Mohamed Sadiki, the total area affected by forest fires recently in several northern regions of the country is 10,300 hectares (25,451 acres).

Morocco, which is experiencing severe drought, has been hit by heatwaves over the past month.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is amplifying extreme weather, with global warming leading to increased risks of heatwaves, drought and forest fires.

500 firefighters battle new wildfire in France
Montpellier, France (AFP) July 26, 2022 –

Nearly 500 firefighters were battling to contain a new wildfire in southern France on Tuesday that has forced the evacuation of a village and burned through 500 hectares (1,235 acres) of forest and vineyards, local officials said.

Residents in Aumelas, a settlement of 500 people 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Montpellier, have been ordered to leave their homes as winds carry the flames towards them.

"In total nearly 500 firefighters are deployed," the local government said in a statement, adding that two aircraft were also dropping water on the blaze.

The surrounding Herault region was hit by a relatively small wildfire last week and is considered at "high" or "very high" risk of fires after months of drought-like conditions and high temperatures.

Two huge blazes near Bordeaux in southwest France over the last fortnight destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest and required around 2,000 firefighters to bring them under control.