PARIS: As out-of-control wildfires ravage large swathes of Portugal, Spain and northern California, AFP talked to scientists about the ways in which global warming can amplify the problem.

Wildfires, drought and extreme heat have been the talk of the town and country across Europe this summer.

Some 14,000 firefighters, including inmate volunteers, are battling 18 major blazes burning thousands of square miles throughout California with aircraft, assorted vehicles and picks and shovels.

The deadly Northern California wildfire, dubbed the Carr Fire has been named as the seventh most destructive in California’s history.

The heatwave gripping large stretches of Europe has already been blamed for deadly forest fires and crop failures. Now freshwater fish could be its next victims.

Assisted by calmer winds at their backs, firefighters in northern California on Tuesday tightened their grip on a deadly blaze raging for more than a week around the city of Redding, as 16 people l

At least 79 people have been killed in wildfires burning close to Athens since Monday, a Greek fire brigade official said on Wednesday.

ATHENS, Greece - In what is being defined as the deadliest wildfire in Greece in decades, the death toll rose to 74 on Tuesday, even as rescuers tried to hunt for survivors on all available ground

Sweden is facing an "extreme" risk of more wildfires in coming days because of hot and dry weather, authorities warned Monday, as dozens of fires raged across the Scandinavian country.

At least 20 people died and more than 100 were injured on Monday as a wildfire swept through a small resort town in eastern Greece with many victims trapped by flames as they fled.