In the Spanish capital, Madrid, officials called off a planned public screening of the national team’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia.
Spain declared its first official heat wave of the year Sunday, with temperatures forecast to climb as high as 44 C (111 F) in some areas through Wednesday.
And in Italy, the Health Ministry issued 15 red warnings, or maximum-level temperature alerts. Major cities, including the capital, Rome, as well as Milan, Turin, Venice and Florence, were among those at risk, the ministry said.
Farther north in Germany, where five people died in swimming accidents related to the heat wave, authorities have also issued highest level alerts for parts of their countries.
“Heat waves like this are associated with what we call high-pressure systems,” said Oscar Brousse, a lecturer in urban climatology and health at University College London. “These systems suppress cloud formation, leading to more sunshine, which heats up the surfaces and, in turn, the air around us.”
As a mass of hot air moves north from the Sahara Desert, Britain is also bracing for unusually high temperatures this week, with forecasters saying readings could approach 40 C — just one degree shy of the all-time national record.
It comes just weeks after the United Kingdom saw its hottest May day in recorded history.
“One of the challenges we face here in the U.K. is adapting to heat when we are actually living in a cold climate for the vast majority of the year,” Brousse said.
