AP reports that Lisbon broke a 37-year-old record to notch its hottest temperature ever as an unrelenting heat wave baked Portugal and neighboring Spain. New heat records were set in 26 places around Portugal.
Portugal’s weather service announced the capital reached 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday afternoon, surpassing the city’s previous record of 43 C (109.4 F) set in 1981.
The day’s hottest temperature of 46.8 C (116.2 F) was recorded at Alvega in the center of Portugal. The country’s highest temperature on record is 47.4 C (117.3 F) since 2003.
Portugal’s weather service noted new maximum highs were recorded at 26 places from measurements taken at a total of 96 weather stations around the country. More than 60 percent of the country registered temperatures of over 40 C (104 F).
The hot, dusty conditions across the Iberian Peninsula are the result of a mass of hot air from Africa and have increased the risk of forest fires. More than 700 firefighters were still battling a forest fire near the Portuguese town of Monchique in the southern Algarve region, a popular tourist destination.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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