ANKARA, Aug 2 (AFP) - Dozens of villages were evacuated in tourist hotspots in southern Turkey on Sunday (Aug 1) as wildfires that have claimed eight lives raged for a fifth day, while blazes also hit Greece, Italy and Spain.

Fanned by soaring temperatures and strong winds - with experts saying that climate change increases both the frequency and intensity of such blazes - this year's fire season has been significantly more destructive than the previous average, EU data shows.

Turkey is suffering its worst fires in at least a decade with nearly 95,000 hectares burnt so far this year, compared with an average of 13,516 at the same point in the years between 2008 and 2020.

A neighbourhood in the tourist city of Bodrum has been evacuated, CNN Turk broadcaster reported, as strong winds fanned flames from the nearby Milas district.

Unable to leave by road, 540 residents were taken to hotels by boats, the channel said.

People were also evacuated from the resort city of Antalya, and two bodies were found in that region on Sunday, taking the number of people killed to eight.

After hitting record levels last month, temperatures are set to remain high.

A temperature of 49.1 degrees Celsius was recorded in the southeastern town of Cizre on Jul 20.

And the mercury is expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius in Antalya on Monday.

Turkey's defence ministry released satellite images showing the extent of the damage, with forest areas turned black and smoke still visible.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been criticised after it emerged that Turkey has no firefighting planes even though one-third of its territory is forested and fires are becoming increasingly frequent.

According to EU figures, Turkey has been hit by 133 wildfires in 2021 so far compared with an average of 43 by this point in the years between 2008 and 2020.