Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday. "Seventy-thousand hectares, to give you an idea, is almost double the last decade's average," he said.

The country's Carlos III Health Institute on Monday estimated a cumulative total of more than 510 heatwave-related deaths in the country, based on statistical calculation of excess deaths.

The heat wave in Portugal has intensified a pre-existing drought and sparked wildfires in central parts of the country, including in the village of Memoria, in the Leiria municipality. 

The heat wave in Portugal has intensified a pre-existing drought and sparked wildfires in central parts of the country, including in the village of Memoria, in the Leiria municipality.

Hundreds have also died in neighboring Portugal, where sweltering temperatures exacerbate a severe drought.

On Saturday, Portugal's Health Ministry said 659 mainly elderly people had died in the previous seven days, Reuters reported.

An elderly couple also died Monday after their vehicle overturned while to flee wildfires in northern Portugal, the country's state broadcaster RTP reported.

In total, over 1,100 people are thought to have died due to the ongoing heatwave in southern Europe.