More than 1,300 firefighters backed up by a dozen waterbombing planes battled three big wildfires in central and northern Portugal on Tuesday, with authorities putting most of the country on red alert for fires after weeks of hot weather.

Hot and dry summers are common across the region, but more intense heatwaves have contributed to destructive wildfires in recent years amid fast-rising temperatures around the globe. Portugal and Spain had the hottest June on record.