LISBON, Portugal — Spain and Portugal both issued weather alerts Monday, advising residents to take extra care as temperatures soared above 40 C (104 F) in some southern areas.
The Iberian Peninsula was sweltering in a heat wave brought on by a mass of hot air flowing north from Africa to Europe in recent days, though recorded temperatures fell shy of the day’s forecast of a maximum 44 C (111.2 F).
With the temperature in Cordoba hitting 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit), Spanish authorities placed the southern city on alert due to “extreme risks” from the heat. People across the southern half of Spain flocked to beaches, swimming pools and fountains.
In Portugal, a high of 37 C (98.6 F) was recorded in the eastern city of Beja, while the capital, Lisbon, sweltered in 35 C (95 F) heat. Portugal’s General Directorate for Health recommended staying out of the sun between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.