Climate change's fingerprints are all over the extreme fire weather that sparked this week's devastating wildfires in Spain and France and has spiked Southern Europe's burning the past eight years,

A fresh spell of extreme heat, driven by climate change, is expected to intensify some of Europe's worst wildfires in decades, stretching firefighting resources.

The wildfires sweeping France and Spain this week are the largest blazes either country has faced in modern history.

Heavy rainfall followed by extreme heat created the perfect tinder, as flames spread through regions of France and Spain.