Snow in Athens while France is on fire: The images that lay bare contrast in extreme weather across Europe

A series of extreme weather events have battered Europe this summer, leading to vast contrasts in the weather across the continent.

In recent weeks, there has seen snow and severe flooding across Greece, while firefighters continue to battle raging wildfires in France and Spain.

In Greece, an atmospheric shift brought a rare dusting of late-July snow to Mount Olympus.

Athens saw torrential rain bring down utility lines and scaffolding, suspending operations of the capital’s suburban rail network.

Images of snow dusting Mt Olympus were captured on July 24 (Alina Zienowicz/wikimedia commons CC BY-SA 3.0)

The flames are not expected to subside, with temperatures set to increase in Gironde from Tuesday (AFP/Getty)

The effects of the rain saw 1,000 calls made to emergency services across the country.

Meanwhile, southwestern Europe remains locked in a relentless heatwave, with French and Spanish emergency crews fighting to contain fast-moving wildfires fed by bone-dry terrain and fierce winds.

In France, 2,500 firefighters and 1,500 military personnel have been deployed to the south as flames sweep through the south west region of Gironde, according to the country’s interior minister.

The snowfall was accompanied by violent downpours that battered the rest of the country (Sky News)

Over 250,000 people have been evacuated, as authorities warn that they could be fighting blazes near Bordeaux for “several weeks or even several months”.

Firefighters across France continue to battle wildfires ravaging the south (AFP/Getty)

Wildfires across Spain have forced nearly 90,000 people to flee their homes (Reuters)

This comes after reports of France’s first “fire cloud” — an extreme weather event that sees the rapid, unpredictable acceleration of wildfires.

The situation is expected to worsen on Tuesday due to a rise in temperatures.

Across the border in Spain, the government has declared a national emergency, as huge fires hit the capital, Madrid, and the nearby province of Ávila, earlier last week.

Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso said has said that it marked the “worst fire in the history of the region.”

Amid mass evacuation orders, the city’s emergency management chief, Carlos Novillo said on Friday that the fire was “currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain.”

The fire was described as “beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain,” by Madrid’s emergency management chief (AP)

130,000 hectares of land had been burned in Spain so far this year, according to Spanish Prime Minster, Pedro Sánchez.

This figure is ahead of the country’s annual average of 100,000 hectares scorched by wildfire over the last decade.

At least one man has been killed in Spain and dozens of others have been injured, including at least 68 firefighters in France.

Scientists warn these stark contrasts reflect an increasingly volatile climate system, driving extreme weather events across the continent.