Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT’S EL ON EARTH
Thousands flee 43˚C killer heatwave in Portugal and Spain
HOLIDAYMAKERS fled ferocious wildfires in Portugal yesterday as temperatures hit 43°C (110F) and the killer Iberian heatwave showed no sign of letting up.
More than 740 firefighters battled the forest fires in southern Algarve – popular with sun-seeking Brits.
Two villages were evacuated and eleven planes were used to drop water on the blaze at Perna da Negra, near Monchique, half an hour from the coast.
Ex-PM David Cameron – on holiday there with his family – was given updates on the blaze by British officials as smoke drifted close to the secluded five-bedroom villa he is renting.
The blistering hot air from North Africa sent temperatures in Spain soaring to 420C (108F) yesterday.
A middle-aged homeless man found dead in a street in Barcelona is believed to have been killed by heatstroke – the third victim of the heatwave. A 41-year-old road worker and 78-yearold man died earlier in Murcia in southern Spain.
Millions of holidaymakers are caught up in the European heatwave, including 300,000 expats in Spain.
Across Europe, France saw a high of 400C (104F). In Finland temperatures reached 300C (86F) – 22 degrees higher than usual. Even Switzerland hit 280C (82F).
Norwegian drivers were urged to watch out for reindeer hiding in tunnels to avoid the 240C (76F) heat.
Here, temperatures hit 330C (91F) in London, and Sainsbury’s gave free ice cream to litter pickers at Finsbury Park.
The Met Office said hot weather will continue today with 310C (88F) in the south and could reach 320C (89F) in London tomorrow and Tuesday.
Wednesday will be “fresher and changeable”. But the heatwave will be back for the August Bank Holiday.
A 16-year-old boy died in hospital yesterday four days after being rescued from the sea at Tywyn, Gwynedd. Blake Ward, from Dudley, West Midlands, was on a family trip.