A 16-day heatwave Spain suffered this month was "the most intense on record", the national meteorological agency said on Sunday.

With forest fires still burning across northern and western Spain, the AEMET meteorological agency said provisional readings for the August 3-18 heatwave exceeded the last record, set in July 2022, and showed an average temperature 4.6C higher than previous events.

AEMET said a 10-day period from August 8 to August 17, was the hottest 10 consecutive days recorded in Spain since "at least 1950".

The August heatwave exacerbated tinderbox conditions that have fuelled wildfires which have killed four people and forced thousands out of their homes.

Four people have also died in fires in Portugal, where emergency services are still struggling to control the blazes.

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