Phew! Temperatures soar on Iberian Peninsula

Children play as they cool down in a fountain beside the Manzanares river in Madrid. Photo: AP

Carla De Wintour in Lisbon

Spain and Portugal both issued weather alerts yesterday, advising residents to take extra care as temperatures soared above 40C (104F) in some southern areas.

The Iberian Peninsula was sweltering in a heat wave brought on by a mass of hot air flowing north from Africa to Europe in recent days, though recorded temperatures fell shy of the day's forecast of a maximum 44C (111.2F).