50C & it feels like hell
»»Spain and Portugal take the heat as mercury soars »»Warmer weather here as plume rises from continent
EUROPE is to swelter in its hottest temperatures, with record figures for parts of Portugal yesterday and the mercury due to soar higher today.
Official figures showed it hit just under 45C (113F) there but we recorded 50C in the south with a handheld thermometer.
It comes after a roadworker in his 40s and 78-year-old died from heatstroke in neighbouring Spain this week.
The Spanish plume yesterday hit the UK, with highs of 32.8C in England. And forecasters warned of rising temperatures blowing in from Europe this weekend.
Thousands flocked to Portugal’s coast yesterday to escape the blazing temperatures.
Several places in the southern Alentejo region had been forecast to hit 47C, so I headed inland in search of a record-breaking spot.
As we stood with the sun beating down on us, en route to Beja, our thermometer hit 50C in no time – the maximum it could measure. Stepping out of the car on arrival in Beja, the heat from the cobbles seared through my sandals.
Breathing felt like a chore and my lungs filled with muggy air. It smelled and somehow tasted hot, almost burning my nose and throat.
The oppressive heat had driven the people of Beja inside or away.
Armando Tomas, 47, owner of Aladdin homewares shop, said locals did not step outside until sunset at around 8.30pm.
He added: “This year has been unbearable. The whole place has felt like a ghost town during the day.”
On Thursday, the hottest temperature on the Iberian peninsula was 45.7C in Mora, Portugal, just a few miles north of Beja, according to the country’s meteorological organisation IPMA.
Yesterday in Beja it was officially 43.1C, just a couple of degrees cooler than the highest temperature for the
whole country. But how did the 50C we recorded in the direct, blazing sun feel? I could finally test whether you can fry an egg on a car.
Cracking the yolk onto the scalding bonnet was like dropping it into a hot pan – before we knew it, it started to cook.
Iberia’s heatwave, due to hot air from North Africa, is its most severe since 2003, with emergency services on alert for forest fires.
Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: “It’s hot quite widely across Europe at the moment but the difference with Spain and Portugal in particular is they’ve just drawn in some very hot air across the north of Africa, so that is elevating temperatures even more.
“Things are expected to cool down slowly next week, with more of an Atlantic influence.”
While the blistering inland region was deserted, the Algarve resort of Albufeira a few miles away was packed with holidaymakers yesterday. Fisherman’s Beach was already busy by 10am.
One group of Brits were cooling down at a beach bar.
David Hague, 18, said: “I can’t wait to show off my tan back home.”
Pal George Churn, 21, said of the extreme heat: “Bring it on.”
Friends Laura Whorton, Faye Ambler, Lauren Heppenstall and Jade Rayner, all 22, cooled off in the sea. Teaching assistant Laura said: “I couldn’t cope with sunbathing all day.”
Travel experts are advising those in Spain and Portugal on holiday – or heading there this weekend – to follow the lead of locals when it comes to dealing with the heat.
A spokesman for the travel trade association Abta said: “We would advise any tourists to avoid spending time in the sun during the hottest part of the day, drink lots of water and apply plenty of sun cream. If you go to the beach, go early and when it feels too hot, leave just like the locals do and have a nice lunch in the shade.
“They know how powerful the sun can get in the hottest part of the day and do everything they can to avoid it.”
Scorching temperatures have been recorded across Europe, with people heading to rivers and beaches to take a dip and keep cool in Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Dozens of revellers at the Arenal Sound festival in Burriana, Spain, leapt in a pool to escape the sun.
Met Office’s Alex Burkill said temperatures were likely to reach the high 20s and low 30s again in the UK in the coming days, adding: “It is not the end of the hot weather or the summer.”
The mercury could climb back to at least 31C in London this weekend, while parts of Scotland will enjoy temperatures in the mid-20s but there will be scatterings of rain.