Forest fires have ravaged northern and central Portugal in October, more than 40 people, including a 1-month-old infant. Fifty people have been wounded with 15 in a serious condition. Authorities expect the death toll to rise.

Portuguese civil defense has registered over 65 separate blazes in the central regions of Coimbra and Castela Branco and the northern region of Viseu. A government spokeswoman said higher-than-normal temperatures combined with a drought-stricken landscape had caused the fires.

The recent outbreaks follow Portugal's deadliest forest fire in June that killed 64 people and injured more than 250. Portugal's national forest service has said that wildfires had scorched almost 200,000 hectares (530,00 acres) of land in 2017 alone.

Flames in several areas has overwhelmed firefighters, many of whom are finding it difficult to reach isolated areas in the countryside. The government has reportedly told residents to help the more than 5,800 firefighters combat the fires. Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.

Separate fires in Spain killed four people in Galacia in northwestern Spain on Sunday. The region's autonomous government told a local news station arson had caused the fires and that were police already investiging multiple suspects. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy traveled to the region to examine the destruction on Monday.

A pharmacy sign in Carpentras, a village in southeastern France, which shortly held the country's all-time heat record of 44.3 degrees on Friday. The record was topped again later in the afternoon in the southern village of Villevieille, 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the east, which measured a thermometer-busting 45.1 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).

Local authorities said that improperly stored chicken dung at a farm in rural northeastern Spain spontaneously combusted in the extreme heat on Wednesday, unleashing a wildfire that continued to burn on into Friday. Temperatures in the area around the fire reached 41 Celsius on Friday (106 Fahrenheit), as more than 600 firefighters battle the blaze.

Denizens of Paris cool down in the Trocadero esplanade. Pavement absorbs heat and takes longer to cool off, which makes cities feel even hotter during a heat wave. Air conditioning is also uncommon in many cities in northern Europe, which can make being indoors unbearable, as buildings trap the heat. A 2003 heatwave in France killed 15,000 people.

A volunteer hands water to a homeless man in Milan, Italy, where the mercury has topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in recent days. A heat wave alert was issued Friday in Milan, and an elderly homeless man reportedly died from heatstroke in a park near city's main train station. The extreme temperatures in Italy are expected to ease over the weekend.

Bathers lounge on the rocky banks of the Isar river in Munich on Thursday. Last weekend, dozens of women who were bathing topless on the Isar were ordered by police to cover up, sparking a debate on public nudity. Nude beaches are common throughout Germany. The banks of the Isar should be full this weekend, with temperatures in Munich expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).

A polar bear cools off at the Hanover Zoo in Germany with a frozen sorbet. Zookeepers across Europe have been helping animals beat the heat with mixtures of fruit frozen in ice. Polar bears are also given frozen fish. On Thursday, France banned the transportation of live animals due to the extreme temperatures.

A weather pattern that has stuck over Europe for almost a week is channeling extremely hot air from the Sahara desert northward. The World Meteorological Association said 2019 is on track to be one of the hottest years on record, and that heatwaves like the one currently scorching Europe are projected to happen more frequently.