Spain flirts with record heat; 16 Italy cities on red alert

Spain endured its hottest day of the year as a heat wave settled over Southern Europe

MADRID -- Spain endured its hottest day of the year Saturday, with temperatures topping 45 degrees Celsius (113 F), while authorities in Italy expanded the number of cities on red alert for health risks to 16 as a heat wave engulfed Southern Europe. The hottest temperature by late afternoon was recorded in Écija, Seville, at 46.5 degrees Celsius (115.7 F), still shy of the country's all-time record of 46.9 Celsius hit in Cordoba in July 2017. Europe's heat record came in Athens in 1977 at 48.0 Celsius (118.4 F). In the southern Spanish province of Granada, where the mercury rose to 45.4 Celsius (113.7 F), few people ventured outside. Those who did sought shade and stopped to take photos of public thermometers displaying the rocketing temperatures. Ice cream parlors did a brisk trade, and some restaurants installed sprinklers to spray mists of water over sweating guests.