“For the people who deny climate change, come with us to fight the wildfires,” says forest firefighter Juan in an impassioned address on Spanish TV.

“I invite you to join us. Come and see how it changes everything,” he told Malas Lenguas. “These fires are caused by depopulation and climate change.”

For nearly a week, France and Spain have battled devastating wildfires that have led to the evacuation of more than 360,000 people and the burning of countless homes. More than 116,000 hectares of land has been scorched across France alone, in what President Emmanuel Macron called the worst crisis in the country since World War Two.

On Sunday, the city’s mayor Thomas Cazenave warned that the blazes were now only 15km (9 miles) away from the entry points to the main city, after the surrounding suburbs were evacuated on Saturday.

Bordeaux City Council officials told Sky News that they were considering plans to evacuate the whole area, which is the sixth-largest city in France.

The Independent’s James Reynolds reports from Bordeaux:

More than 250,000 people in southwest France have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires burn across the region, scorching more than 42,000 hectares of land.

The fire, which began in Gironde on Wednesday, is just seven miles from Bordeaux as authorities warned that the blaze may continue to burn for several months.

President Emmanuel Macron met with his cabinet on Monday morning to discuss the crisis, but has said Bordeaux will not be evacuated.

Experts have warned that the blaze is being driven by a “fire cloud”, which occurs when a wildfire generates its own unique weather system.

Around 4,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as France is to be hit by a heatwave today.

The new evacuation orders apply to campsites, tourist residences and leisure parks in the Lacanau Ocean area and both shores of the strip.

The UK government is advising people in Spain to avoid travelling through affected areas of Madrid and Avila, while in France, people are being advised to follow the advice of local authorities and check with their accommodation or travel provider before travelling.

New data from Save the Children has said that two thirds of children in western Europe were exposed to extreme heatwaves in the first half of 2026.

The data analysis suggests:

• 57 million children and 63 percent of the population of Western Europe have been exposed to extreme heatwaves – already more than any year in the last two decades
• Over ten million children in the UK have been exposed to extreme heatwaves in the first six months of 2026 – more than the total for any whole year since 1995

Firefighters have worked overnight to contain raging blazes across southwestern France.

While the situation appears to have been contained, the situation still remains difficult according to Nathalie Delattre, senator for Gironde which covers the city of Bordeax.

“Everything will depend on how the firefighters on the ground get on,” she told BFM TV on Tuesday.