A wildfire in Stourbridge, England, has caused 'extensive' devastation, described as 'one of the most significant' incidents faced by West Midlands Fire Service. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

Four people were taken to hospital and homes damaged in West Midlands fires. Aerial footage shows burnt houses as the wildfire spreads in Stourbridge.

Europe heatwave

Today, 150 million people in Europe will experience temperatures of 35°C or above, an AFP analysis showed. Around three out of five European residents (excluding Turkey), amounting to around 350 million people, will see temperatures surpass 30°C.

Fire in Croatia

Around 1,000 people have been evacuated after a wildfire in Omiš, Croatia, including some 300 Czech tourists. A Czech police officer has been sent to coordinate the emergency response. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is holding a coordination meeting with all emergency services this morning. President Zoran Milanović is also expected later.

"All those injured in last night's fire are being provided with the necessary medical care," Plenković said in an earlier update on X.

The number of injured in the Croatian fire has risen to 36, with 14 hospitalised and seven with life-threatening injuries, Reuters reported.

"Everything flared up in a second," Goran Lović, the owner of a cafe near where the fire broke out in Lokva Rogoznica, told Jutarnji List. "It just happened all of a sudden, there was an open flame in the part where there is a forest and no houses."

Most of the affected people are believed to be tourists.

Fire in Germany

A German wildfire forced 1,800 people to evacuate overnight.

UK PM response

Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered thanks to firefighters tackling the West Midlands blaze.

Climate crisis debate

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband posted a stark message on Instagram warning that climate breakdown is a national security threat to British people. He promised to work with countries around the world to tackle global heating, adding: "I feel this so deeply. We owe it to future generations to act. Our planet is sending us a warning signal and we are going to listen."

Meanwhile, people are asking why Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reluctant to talk about the climate crisis, the effects of which are raging around the country. Sandra Laville, environment correspondent, writes: "From the first day Andy Burnham came into office, climate scientists, campaigners and some of the ordinary people surviving through this summer of extreme heat began to wonder when he would start to talk about the climate crisis. Up until this week, many held back from criticism. After all, he had only been in power for a couple weeks; it felt far too early to start to judge and call him out on it. But as we watched the footage of terrified horses galloping over cindering heathland in the New Forest while yet another wildfire took hold, it no longer felt too soon to wonder. Now people are asking aloud: why is Burnham ignoring what is in front of his face – the devastating impact of climate breakdown on the country and its citizens?"

Police footage shows the scale of the New Forest wildfire.

Fire in France

Fires also continue in France, but details are not yet available.