Spain is deploying an additional 500 soldiers to combat raging wildfires, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Sunday, as the country grapples with a prolonged period of scorching weather. The new deployment adds to the more than 1,400 troops already battling blazes across parched woodland.

Spain is deploying 500 more soldiers to help battle wildfires that have ravaged parched woodlands during a prolonged heatwave, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.

Firefighters were battling 20 major fires across Spain, with the country's northwest particularly impacted. Prime Minister Sanchez has cut short his summer holiday to deal with the crisis.