Wildfires have scorched hotspots in several Mediterranean countries this month, with blazes forcing thousands of people into lockdown in Catalonia in Spain, and encroaching on France's second-biggest city of Marseille.

A blaze in southern France forced the closure of the Marseille airport, and weather agencies issued warnings for other parts of Europe where temperatures were expected to climb this week.

Europe's counter-Houthi mission doesn't have the warships it needs to fully protect Red Sea shipping lanes, the commander overseeing the operation told Business Insider. He said the two vessels that were recently attacked didn't ask for an escort.

Two people died in a separate wildfire on 1 July in the Catalonia region, where Tarragona is located. In the south of France, a wildfire that reached the outskirts of Marseille injured 110 people, and locals have been warned that while the fire has been contained for now, it remains a concern.

Hot summer weather is spreading wildfires across Europe after a blaze reached France's second-largest city and left 110 injured.

As wildfires continue to burn across parts of Europe and a severe heat wave grips the continent, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said on Wednesday that the EU is better prepared to respond to such disasters.

Welcome to Europe 's new normal, said Hamdam Mostafavi in Libération (Paris), where our once-glorious summers have been made almost unliveable by extreme heat. Even in Germany, temperatures hit 40°C during last week's heatwave - the point at which the human body stops functioning optimally.

Europe has been experiencing dozens of extreme weather events in recent weeks, from blistering heatwaves to raging storms. Many of these rapidly fluctuating phenomena have already been attributed in part to human-induced climate change.

Here in Marseille, we’re usually grateful for the cooling breeze that blows in from across the Mediterranean. However, this