Portugal and Spain have continued to swelter under an intense heat wave that has produced near-record temperatures in the southern European countries.
Portugal has issued red alerts for extreme heat for more than half the country, with thermometers approaching 46C (114.8F). The country’s highest ever recorded temperature was 47.4C (117.3F) in 2003.
The hot, dry conditions have led to several wildfires in Portugal.
(PA Graphics)
Nearly 700 firefighters and 10 water-dumping aircraft are fighting the biggest outbreak, which has burned 1,000 hectares near the town of Monchique in the southern Algarve region.
“It’s a very serious situation of extreme heat,” Portugal President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa warned.
Spain also issued warnings of extreme heat for its southern areas with temperatures expected to reach 45C (113F) in the cities of Seville, Huelva, Badajoz and Cordoba.
It will be warm in parts of the north and hot across some southern areas over the next couple of days. #Temperatures could reach 32 °C somewhere in southern England. However, cooler Atlantic air will gradually spread across the UK next week pic.twitter.com/Mg5PUqzU5i
— Met Office (@metoffice) August 4, 2018
It will be warm in parts of the north and hot across some southern areas over the next couple of days. #Temperatures could reach 32 °C somewhere in southern England. However, cooler Atlantic air will gradually spread across the UK next week pic.twitter.com/Mg5PUqzU5i
— Met Office (@metoffice) August 4, 2018
High temperatures contributed to the deaths of two men on Friday in Spain, one in Barcelona and the other in the south-eastern region of Murcia, according to Spanish authorities.
The hot air mass coming in from Africa is also bringing dust from the Sahara Desert, making the sky a dark yellow or dusky orange in places.
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