Europe bakes in summer's first heatwave as continent warms

Marseille: Sweating Europeans braced on Saturday for the first heatwave of the northern hemisphere summer, as climate change pushes the world s fastes...

Marseille: Sweating Europeans braced on Saturday for the first heatwave of the northern hemisphere summer, as climate change pushes the world's fastest-warming continent's thermometers increasingly into the red.

Temperatures are set to rise to 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) in Rome, driving the Eternal City's many tourists and Catholic pilgrims to the Vatican alike towards the Italian capital's some 2,500 public fountains for refreshment.

With residents of the southern port city of Marseille expected to have to cope with temperatures flirting with 40C (104F), authorities in France's second-largest city ordered public swimming pools to be made free of charge to help residents beat the Mediterranean heat.

Two-thirds of Portugal will be on high alert on Sunday for extreme heat and forest fires with 42C (108F) expected in the capital Lisbon, while visitors to -- and protesters against -- Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos's Friday wedding in Venice likewise sweltered under the summer sun.

"I try not to think about it, but I drink a lot of water and never stay still, because that's when you get sunstroke," Sriane Mina, an Italian student, told AFPTV on Friday in Venice.