Wildfires and extreme heat causing problems across UK and Europe

Firefighters in the UK and Europe have been tackling wildfires due to the recent hot and dry weather.

More than 330,000 people have so far been evacuated across both France and Spain.

Other countries such as Italy and Germany have also been affected by fires.

In North Wales, specially trained wildfire teams have been helping to tackle a large blaze in the Rhinogydd mountains.

Read on to find out more...

Emergency services have fought multiple wildfires across north Wales, including at the Rhinogydd mountains where the smoke was visible from space.

Both North Wales Fire and Rescue and North Wales Police have asked the public to stay away from the affected areas.

Firefighters have also been fighting a large heathland blaze on the Isle of Wight.

A major incident was declared by emergency services in Scotland on Friday evening as they tackle a wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park that has been burning for 10 days.

In Derbyshire, a major moorland fire has burned an area of more than 600 hectares - around 900 football pitches - since it began last month, data has suggested.

Emergency services are closely monitoring the scene near Glossop to make sure that the blaze doesn't spread again.

Around 40,000 residents and tourists have been moved to safety from homes and campsites in the Gironde region in south-west France.

Many have been spending the weekend in make-shift shelters in sports halls, and planned Scout and summer camps have been cancelled due to safety concerns.

The fire has now consumed an area bigger than the Isle of Wight.

The fire is nine miles (15km) away from the city of Bordeaux, but mayor Thomas Cazenave said on Sunday there were no plans to evacuate the city's population of about 850,000.

French President Emmanuel Macron plans to hold a crisis meeting with government ministers, while the army has been sent to help firefighters with the response.

Experts have said the fire was caused by a "pyrocumulonimbus" - a giant fire thunderstorm fuelled by its own winds and lightning.

Tourists have been asked not to come to the region while the authorities are continuing to deal with the situation.

Another heatwave in France could make efforts to tackle the fire more challenging, with weather forecasts predicting highs of up to 40C this week.

In Spain, where a state of emergency has been declared, a change in weather conditions has helped firefighters outside Madrid.

It's estimated around 77,000 hectares - an area roughly half the size of Greater London - has been affected by the fires with over 90,000 people having fled from the regions around Madrid and Ávila.

Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described the situation as the "worst fire in the history of the region".

Now some residents are being allowed to make their way home, including in the town of San Martín de Valdeiglesias.

In the eastern coastal city of Valencia 15,000 people have had to evacuate.

Pilar Bernabe, the central government's delegate to Valencia, said the fire had been "very intense" and weather conditions were expected to worsen.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that "difficult hours lie ahead".

In Italy more than 350 fires - including 10 major blazes - broke out on the island of Sicily.

Officials have said that the situation in Sicily is "serious" and that the fires were "being fuelled by very high temperatures and very dry soil".

Southern Europe is currently going through another spell of severe heat, with temperatures reaching 40C in some areas.

The mayor of Rome has also announced that more than 22 air-conditioned libraries and cinemas will opened to the public over the next two weeks, as the capital battles another intense heatwave.

People will be able to shelter from the heat inside the buildings, where free drinking water will be available and Italian films will also be shown.