Blazes are about 15km from Bordeaux, but the city's mayor says there are no plans to evacuate.

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

Certain types of severe wildfire can create pyrocumulonimbus - something that Nasa calls the "fire-breathing dragon of clouds".

A blaze near Bordeaux has torn through more than 162 sq miles (420 sq km) in less than four days, while the Madrid region is seeing its worst fires ever.

Thomas Cazenave says they are preparing if further evacuations are issued, as the mayor of a nearby town called the situation "catastrophic".

The prince's warning comes as wildfires rage in parts of Europe and the UK during a spell of extreme heat.