Southern France raises wildfire alert to highest level

France has declared its highest, red-level wildfire alert in three southern departments amid a heightened risk of forest fires.

The national weather service, Météo-France, said the alert applies to Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude and Gard.

Temperatures in some areas could reach 34 C, while low humidity and wind gusts of up to 15 metres per second are expected to worsen conditions.

A further five departments have been placed on the second-highest, orange alert level.

More than 119,000 hectares have been destroyed by fires in France since the beginning of the year.

The largest fire was in the Gironde department, where more than 42,000 hectares were affected, and 240 homes were destroyed. More than half of those homes were in the commune of Le Porge, which was among the worst-affected areas.

By Aghakazim Guliyev