A record hot and dry summer has strained Europe, sparking wildfires in Greece and France and causing drought conditions across much of the United Kingdom.

Temperatures across the continent have exceeded seasonal norms and rainfall has been scarce since May, leading to the driest July in England and Wales in nearly 200 years, according to the Met Office. The European Union’s Copernicus climate service reports that Europe has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s.

A wildfire west of Athens jumped containment lines on Monday, a day after a midair collision between two helicopters killed two crew members, including a Greek national and a Danish national, and hospitalized two others. All four were private operators chartered by the Greek firefighting service. Strong winds pushed the flames into mountain home clusters, destroyed farms and property and closed a highway. More than 1,000 residents were evacuated from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and nearby areas, including more than 250 rescued by boat. Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said 12 water‑dropping planes and 11 helicopters were operating in the area on Monday.

In France, firefighters in the Bordeaux region worked to contain a blaze that had burned approximately 420 square kilometers, the largest recorded wildfire in the country. The fire destroyed 183 homes in the municipality of Le Porge and forced the evacuation of more than 224,000 people, the largest civilian displacement in peacetime. Cap Ferret peninsula and other tourist areas were reopened on Monday after officials declared the fire contained.

A separate fire in a forest in the southern province of Limburg required about 1,500 firefighters and two Chinook helicopters to reinforce fire lines. The national railway halted train service between two towns due to the fire, and a campsite was evacuated because of poor air quality from smoke.

The European Forest Fire Information System warned that high wildfire risk will persist across parts of the continent through Aug. 5, including in northern regions. Rising temperatures and prolonged drought have made vegetation drier and more combustible, allowing fires to spread rapidly. Drought conditions affect more than half of England and all of Wales, according to the Met Office. The situation remains under observation as temperatures are expected to rise further through the week.