As Europe bakes in another heatwave, forecasters say the all-time temperature record could be broken in the coming days.
A woman refreshes herself in a fountain at Plaza de Espana as a heatwave hits Spain and Portugal. Photo: AFP
The current European record is 48C set in Athens in July 1977.
Temperatures are rising in Spain and Portugal, aided by a surge of hot air sweeping in from Africa, and BBC forecasters are predicting areas in both countries could reach 47C on both Friday and Saturday.
Portugal's national record is 47.4C, set in 2003. Spain's peak of 47.3C was only set in July last year.
In the UK, temperatures are expected to reach about 33C in the southeast.
Spain's national weather service has put a warning in place until at least Sunday, saying the heatwave will be "especially intense and lasting in the southwest".
Europe's weather warning group, Meteoalarm, has already issued red warnings - categorised as very dangerous and posing a risk to life - for much of southern Portugal and for the Badajoz province in Spain.
Italy has also issued red alerts across its centre and north, which includes the tourist hotspots of Rome, Florence and Venice.
Meteogroup said there was a 40 per cent chance of equalling the 48C record from Athens - and "a 25 to 30 per cent chance that we will break the European temperature record".
European temperature records
Ipma, the Portuguese national weather service, said the period of exceptional heat was comparable to the 2003 record-setting season.
Even the lowest overnight temperatures would stay between 25-30C for much of the country, it said.
The Villette basin in Paris takes on the air of a seaside resort. Photo: AFP
The sweltering Iberian temperatures follow weeks of sustained heat across Europe.
Researchers said that climate change made Europe's extended heatwave twice as likely as it would otherwise have been.
The long, hot summer has been so consistent that it has put a strain on German breweries, who have sold so much beer that there is a bottle shortage - bouncing back from record low sales last year.
And in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, extremely low water levels in the river Elbe have led to the discovery of World War Two grenades and ammunition, police said.
A minority of discoveries were made by people actively searching for old explosives on the river bed - which police warned was both "forbidden and dangerous".
- BBC
