Spain headed for its hottest early summer temperatures in four decades on Friday, one area of France banned outdoor events, and drought stalked Italian farmers as a heat wave sent Europeans hunting for shade and fretting over climate change.
Such was the heat that England's upscale Royal Ascot Racecourse even saw a rare change of protocol: guests were allowed to shed hats and jackets once the royals had passed.
Northern Italian regions risk losing up to half their agricultural output due to a drought, a farm lobby said, as lakes and rivers start to run dangerously low, jeopardising irrigation.The federation of Italian utility companies, Utilitalia, warned this week that the country's longest river, the Po, was experiencing its worst drought for 70 years, leaving many sections of the vast, northern waterway completely dried up.
Mediterranean nations are more-and-more worried about how climate change may affect their economies and lives. Firefighters were battling wildfires in several parts of Spain, with Catalonia in eastern Spain and Zamora near the western border with Portugal the worst hit.The cloud of hot air was sparing Portugal on Friday, where temperatures were not as high as in other European nations, with Lisbon likely to reach 27 C.