Wildfires break out in world's woodlands amid record temperatures

One regional service said the number of open fires could have tripled, while the Met Office earlier warned that most of England was at exceptional risk. It's been a similar situation around the world, with multiple countries hit by devastating blazes. 

Some people were forced to evacuate their homes, and the National Trust admitted it was on “tenterhooks” over the possibility of a large-scale fire.

Here are some images from around the UK - and the globe - as wildfires took hold of the world's woodlands. 

UK 

A large wildfire in woodland at Lickey Hills Country Park on the edge of Birmingham. About sixty firefighters are tackling the blaze which broke out at the beauty spot on Monday (Image: PA)

: In this aerial view, burnt woodland is seen while smoke rises from the trees following a fire on July 19, 2022 in Blidworth, England

Firefighters contain a wildfire that encroached on nearby homes in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield on July 20, 2022 in Sheffield, England

France 

A firefighter sprays water as smoke rises at a forest fire near Louchats, 35 kms (22 miles) from Landiras in Gironde, southwestern France,

This photo provided by the fire brigade of the Gironde region (SDIS 33) shows firefighters unroll the fire hose at a forest fire at La Test-de-Buch, southwestern France, late Monday, July 18, 2022.

Spain 

An aircraft drops water to extinguish a wildfire in Tabara

Greece 

A firefighting airplane drops water in the area of Drafi east of Athens on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes late Tuesday as a wildfire threatened mountainside suburbs northeast of Athens

USA 

An airplane drops fire retardant on a wildfire near Glen Rose, Texas, Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Officials say a mandatory evacuation order issued because of a wildfire in North Texas has been lifted although the threat of fires remains high in the state due to hot temperatures, winds and drought conditions