Pope Francis has prayed for the victims of the Greece wildfires that have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of land in the northeast alone, with a government spokesman saying Greece was "going through the most difficult year, in terms of climatic conditions, in the history of recording and collecting meteorological data".

The EU-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service said the blaze that has been raging for 7 days was the largest recorded wildfire on European soil in years.

Authorities announced on Friday (August 25) that another charred body believed to be a migrant was found in a forested area in the Evros region, bringing the total number of those killed in the latest outbreak this summer to 21.

The pontiff also asked to pray for his 5-day apostolic journey to Mongolia on Aug 31st during which he is scheduled to visit the country's largest Catholic establishment, the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.