In Spain, the heat record for the month of June has been broken. This weekend, it reached 46 degrees Celsius in El Granado, a village in the southwest of the country, near the border with Portugal.
The temperature was measured on Saturday, but the weather service AEMET confirmed on Sunday that the measurement was correct and that it was a record. That is according to the Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
The new record was set during the first heatwave that Spain has experienced this summer. It is expected to last until July 1. The previous heat record for the month of June was from 1965. At that time, the temperature in Seville rose to 45.2 degrees Celsius.
The temperature this weekend is around 40 degrees Celsius in large parts of Spain. A 34-year-old Dutchman died on Thursday afternoon during a walk on Mallorca. He is presumed to have become unwell due to the heat, writes the Spanish Ultima Hora.
According to scientists and meteorologists, the high temperatures are becoming more frequent due to human-caused climate change.
Extreme heat also in France, Greece and Italy
It is also very hot in other Southern European countries. In Rome, the temperature is expected to rise to 37 degrees Celsius. Both tourists and Catholic pilgrims seek refreshment at the approximately 2,500 public fountains in the Italian capital.
The French port city of Marseille has already taken measures to offer residents cooling. It is also hot there, with perceived temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius. The French authorities have therefore decided to make the public swimming pools freely accessible to residents.
In thirteen departments, ‘code orange’ has been declared. This calls on residents to be ‘extremely careful’.