Europe’s heatwave gripped Spain and Portugal on Friday, as governments checked for forest fires.
Hot air from North Africa has caused the most severe heatwave since 2003 in Iberia. Summer has brought drought and forest fires in Britain and Greece.
Spanish and Portuguese temperatures will remain above 40 Celsius at least until Sunday, and could rise 2 or 3 degrees. That could push them above Europe’s record high of 48C, set in Athens in 1977, Reuters reported.
“Lisbon will be one of the hottest cities in the world this weekend because it’s 10 in the morning right now and the weather is already way too hot,” said Ana Pascoal, 56, a cleaner at a high-end restaurant.
In Switzerland, mountain railways reported booming business as city dwellers fled to the Alps. Fishery authorities in the canton of Zurich were combing creeks to rescue fish from suffocation as streams dry up or oxygen levels plunge.
According to Reuters, the Swiss army let soldiers wear shorts and T-shirts instead of standard uniforms.
