Wildfires have spread dangerously close to capital cities including Madrid and Athens in the past week, as data shows the number of blazes in Europe has jumped by nearly 50 per cent compared with last year.

Firefighters are battling several wildfires in Greece as a scorching heatwave wreaks havoc across southern Europe. In the past 24 hours alone, more than 152 new fires have broken out across Greece - and thousands of people have been evacuated.

Greece on Wednesday battled to contain more than 20 wildfires including one menacing its third-largest city Patras as a heatwave stoked blazes and forced the evacuation of thousands in southern