France issues highest-level red alert due to wildfire

Paris: Météo-France, the French national meteorological service, has issued its highest-level red alert due to wildfire risks in the Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle departments, citing adverse weather conditions.

The agency stated that "current weather conditions mean the risk of forest and brushfire outbreaks and their spread is very high compared to typical summer averages."

An orange alert was also activated across 29 additional departments. In a related development, authorities in the Côte-d'Or department reported that a fire had broken out in a forest in the commune of Couchey, in eastern France, spreading across an area of 50 hectares.

French authorities are currently battling a widespread wave of forest fires amid an unprecedented heatwave.