Turkey faced a “very risky week” for wildfires, an official said Monday, as blazes across parts of southeast Europe and the Balkans damaged homes and led to a huge firefighting operation that included evacuations.

Wildfires are currently raging in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria amid a 44°C heatwave, ongoing droughts and strong winds. A map from Nasa shows how flames have spread across the region in the last week despite efforts to contain them. What has become clear is that climate change is accelerating the disaster in a region already on the brink.

Wildfires driven by searing temperatures and strong winds ravaged Turkey and parts of Greece in recent days, leaving four people dead and forcing hundreds of residents and tourists to flee the flames.