Millions of people in Britain woke from the country's warmest-ever night on Tuesday and braced for a day when temperatures are forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), as a heat wave scorching Europe wallops a country more used to mild weather and rain.

The U.K.'s Met Office weather agency said provisional figures showed the temperature remained above 25 C (77 F) overnight in parts of the country for the first time.

A heat wave broiling Europe spilled northward Monday to Britain and fueled ferocious wildfires in Spain and France, which evacuated thousands of people and scrambled water-bombing planes and firefighters to battle flames in tinder-dry forests.

Two people were killed in the blazes in Spain that its prime minister linked to global warming, saying, "Climate change kills."

Malaysian customs officials said Monday they seized a stash of rare animal parts worth $18 million thought to have come from Africa, including elephant tusks, rhino horns and pangolin scales. 

German and Egyptian leaders on Monday urged industrialized nations not to let Russia's war on Ukraine derail the fight against climate change as they met ahead of the COP27 summit in November.

Six lions were put down after escaping from a South African game reserve and terrorizing people living nearby, wildlife authorities said on Monday.

Britain and France went on heatwave alert on Monday facing record temperatures as southwest Europe wilted under a scorching sun and ferocious wildfires devoured more forests.

Firefighters battled to contain wildfires sweeping across southwest Europe on Sunday as a heatwave showed no sign of abating, with Britain poised to set new temperature records this coming week.

Blazes raging in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee.

Thousands of firefighters on Friday battled wildfires in France, Portugal and Spain in the face of scorching heatwaves as Britain braced for "extreme" heat in the coming days.

Swathes of southwest Europe are enduring their second heatwave in weeks as scientists say such extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change. 

The UK's meteorological agency on Friday issued its first ever "red" warning for exceptional heat, forecasting record highs of 40 degrees Celsius next week.

"Exceptional, perhaps record-breaking temperatures are likely early next week," Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said.

Fires ravaging remote mountain forests in northern Morocco have killed at least one person and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 families, officials said on Friday.

Fanned by strong winds, the fires that broke out on Wednesday have destroyed 1,600 hectares (nearly 4,000 acres) of woodland in the provinces of Larache, Ouezzane, Taza and Tetouan, the authorities said.