Europe heat wave brings concern for older adults, homeless

Spain expects to record its hottest day of the year as a heat wave settled over Southern Europe

MADRID -- Spain expected to record its hottest day of the year with temperatures topping 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) in parts of the Iberian Peninsula on Saturday, while Italian authorities expanded the number of cities on red alert for health risks as a heat wave settled over Southern Europe. In the southern Spanish province of Granada, where the mercury hit 40 degrees Celsius(104 F) by midday, few people ventured outside. Those who did sought shade and stopped to take photos of public thermometers displaying the rocketing temperature. Dominic Royé, a climate scientist at the University of Santiago de Compostela, said the hot air from the Sahara that had brought days of hot weather and wildfires continued to stream over to Mediterranean countries. “The heat wave we are experiencing now is very extreme, and a lot of people are saying that it’s normal as we are in summer. But it’s not, not this hot,” Roye said.