As extreme temperatures and high winds threaten to spark more devastating wildfires in Greece, several parts are on high alert.

In southern Greece, including around Athens, extreme fire risk warnings have been issued.

Summer temperatures in the capital have reached near 40C (104F) this week.

A number of fires broke out over the weekend, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.

In the north-eastern part of the country, near the Turkish border, one of the worst fire fronts is near the port city of Alexandroupolis.

Greece’s fire service said 13 communities near the city were evacuated “for the safety of the citizens” due to fires burning there for several days.

Fires are also burning in the eastern Rhodope region and Kavala, in the north.

Several countries have sent reinforcements to help Greek firefighters, including France, Cyprus, and Romania.

So far, at least one person has died in these latest fires.

In the central Boeotia region, north of Athens, an 80-year-old man collapsed while trying to save his sheep from the flames.

The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, have been linked to climate change in Greece, including summer wildfires.

Wildfires broke out on the Greek island of Rhodes and in other parts of the country last month, forcing thousands of people to flee.

Wildfires in Greece had already reached the highest level since 2008, the EU’s Crisis Management Commissioner, Janez Lenarčič, said on Monday.

“The burned area is bigger, and the fires are more intense and violent, burning more land than before.”