Europe groaning under the heat: 47 degrees (!) In Portugal, a state of emergency was declared in Great Britain

Belgium

Those who want to look cool on the coast this weekend won’t be alone there. The Flemish Traffic Center expects very busy traffic on the way to the sea. Inside will be baking and roasting, as our weather predicts.

Saturday’s temperature is expected to reach 25 degrees, while Sunday’s mercury will rise to 27 degrees, and on Monday it will only get warmer by 34 degrees. On Tuesday, the subtropical air coming from the Iberian Peninsula will reach our country, making it extremely hot with a maximum of 38 degrees in the middle. Locally, it could get warmer, according to RMI. Sabine Hagedorn says no rain is expected until Thursday at the earliest.

This means that the government’s heating plan will come into effect and no more water will be pumped from the waterways. Monday morning the Integrated Water Policy Coordinating Committee (CIW) meets and it may be decided to ban cleaning cars, watering the garden or filling swimming pools with tap water. The Flemish Health and Wellness Agency also invites you to drink enough water and stay out of full sun as much as possible.

Read also. It will be tropical and warm: here is the forecast for the coming days

France

In France it has been warm in the south in recent days with temperatures approaching 40 degrees and the oven temperature only seems to be rising. The Météo France weather service is forecasting a heat wave in the southwest and south and gives an orange code to seven sections (including the Gironde, Ardèche and Drône) due to the intense heat and drought. From Monday it can reach 42 degrees.

Large wildfires broke out in many places and residents and tourists had to be evacuated. However, the danger of forest fires remains.

Portugal

In Pinhaõ, northern Portugal, 47 degrees were measured, a new record. And it continues to blow, as a result of which it is difficult to fight forest fires raging in different places. At least one person was killed.

Half of the country’s population is currently living in “code red” because of the heat that will last for a while.

Read also. Several dead in firefighting plane crash in Portugal

Spain

Although it appears that the peak of the heat wave in Spain is over, people will have to wait until the beginning of next week for milder temperatures. At 7 a.m. on Friday, the temperature was already 37.2 degrees in the southwestern province of Badajoz and will pick up again this weekend. In Madrid it is expected 40 degrees, and in Seville even 41 degrees. Then it’s more bearable in the Canary Islands where it’s around 30 degrees, which is normal at this time of year.

Spain’s weather institute Aemet warns that the absolute record of 47.4 degrees – set in August 2021 – could be broken this summer.

Read also. Costa del Sol wildfires: 2,300 people evacuated

Italia

In Italy, temperatures will rise mainly in the north in the coming days. It was already very dry in that area. Although the Po River is important to the region’s already shaky economy, it is at its lowest level in 70 years. Large ships can no longer pass, and some parts are even dry.

The temperatures are still rising day by day in Tuscany, Milan and elsewhere. On Sunday, the temperature will reach 40 degrees.

Britain

Meanwhile, the heat is gradually moving northward. The British Meteorological Institute announced the red symbol for extreme heat early next week. Record temperatures are expected across England on Monday and Tuesday, with the mercury hitting 40 degrees. This is the case, for example, in London.

The highest temperature ever recorded in the country was 38.7 degrees, on July 25, 2019 in Cambridge. This record is almost certain to be broken.

Turkey and Greece

Also in the area around the Aegean it is very hot and people are not spared from forest fires. But unlike us, such high temperatures are common in that region at this time of year. So the tourists are not bothered by it too much. There are also wildfires there. Including the area around Athens.