Thousands of firefighters, supported by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft, are battling over 20 major wildfires in western Spain, where a record area of land has already been destroyed. Heatwaves and drought, worsened by climate change, have intensified the fires, which have also affected neighboring Portugal, Al Jazeera reported.

Two firefighters died in road accidents over the weekend, raising the death toll to four in Spain and two in Portugal. The blazes, concentrated in Castile and Leon, Galicia, and Extremadura, have forced thousands to evacuate.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, more than 343,000 hectares (848,000 acres) have burned this year, surpassing the previous national record of 306,000 hectares.