MADRID, Aug 14, (Xinhua):  Record heatwaves have turned Europe into a sweltering sauna above 40 degrees Celsius as raging wildfires sweep many countries on high alert. The extreme summer heat has created favorable conditions for rampant wildfires, which have already killed several people, displaced thousands and forced firefighters to battle blazes across large parts of Europe.

In France, a heatwave broke temperature records in the southwest, with maximums up to 12 degrees Celsius above normal, before spreading to the center-east and northeast of the country. "Often remarkable, even unprecedented maximum temperatures, often 12 degrees above normal levels, were reached this Monday," Meteo France said Tuesday in a press release.

The intense heat, combined with dry winds and rare rainfall, has created ideal conditions for fueling wildfires, which have erupted across southern Europe and the Balkans. In Croatia, air temperature records were set in Sibenik, at 39.5 degrees, and Dubrovnik, at 38.9 degrees, while large forest fires raged along its coasts and ripped through neighboring countries in the Balkans.

In Spain, for example, a lightning-sparked wildfire near Madrid killed one man, forced hundreds of residents to evacuate, and scorched about 1,000 hectares of land, while a second fire in the southern resort town of Tarifa prompted around 2,000 people to flee, and additional blazes in Zamora and Castilla y Leon forced hundreds more to leave.

A fire map published on the website of national broadcaster RTVE shows widespread fire activities across the country, with orange and red indicators marking both active fires and affected zones. Authorities are requesting help from European partners as Spain faces its 10th consecutive day of a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures peaking at 45 degrees.

The country is ready to seek more help from European allies, such as more firefighters, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska was quoted by local media Cadena SER as saying on Wednesday. Meanwhile, wildfires continue to scorch northern Portugal, with more than 1,300 firefighters and 16 aircraft busy battling flames, one of which has been burning for 10 days.