Spain is bracing for what its interior minister calls 'three very tough days' as temperatures rise and strong winds threaten to reignite wildfires that have already forced the evacuation of about 330,000 people since last week. Fernando Grande-Marlaska described the situation as 'complex,' which is government-speak for 'we're not having a great time.' Meanwhile, in France, firefighters near Bordeaux are battling a blaze near Lanton that has brought out a full squadron of firefighting aircraft, a line of fire trucks, and a 67-year-old volunteer named Jean-Claude Bonnet, who told AFP he's never seen anything like this in his life. 'The worst part is seeing the animals that have been burnt to death by the side of the road,' he said, adding that it's an ecological disaster, in case anyone was still wondering.

Over in Greece, two firefighters died on Crete while battling a forest blaze, according to the fire department. Deputy spokesperson Yiannis Artopios confirmed the deaths, and state TV reported the men were trapped by the fire in their fire engine near Rethymno. Fires also broke out on Lesbos and Paros, because apparently no Greek island is safe this summer.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to social media to stress the importance of European solidarity, announcing that Romania, Greece, and Poland are extending or joining missions to help. 'As the fires in France and Spain continue to ravage, European solidarity knows no limit,' she said - which is nice, but doesn't exactly put out fires.

In Hungary, the Paks nuclear power plant is shutting down one of its four reactors due to record-low water levels on the Danube, because of course a heatwave would also mess with nuclear cooling. The plant had already reduced output at another unit by 254 megawatts on Monday.

Meanwhile, just over half of England has been declared in drought after what is set to be the driest July on record. Some parts of southern England saw just one percent of expected rainfall. That's not a typo: one percent.

A 2024 study in The Lancet estimated that about 1.5 million people a year die from the smoke from landscape fires. But hey, at least we're getting better at counting them.

Moises Galan Santano, a wildfires expert at the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre, stressed that more needs to be done on prevention, which seems like an obvious point but apparently bears repeating. The European Commission has a policy paper promoting measures like more grazing, wetland restoration, and public awareness. Let's hope they read it this time.