Blazes have broken out across Europe as the forest fire season takes hold, including deadly ones in Greece, as well as in Britain, Portugal and Turkey

France and Spain on Thursday glimpsed a reprieve from some of the worst wildfires in living memory, which have sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing – among them Hollywood star George Clooney and his wife Amal.

But other blazes have broken out in different parts of Europe as the forest fire season takes hold, including deadly ones in Greece, as well as in Britain, Portugal and Turkey.

The unusual intensity of some of the fires underlines the increasing risk the continent faces as climate change parches vegetation and makes the emergencies more extreme, scientists say.

‘Resolutely optimistic’