Barcelona records hottest June and Eiffel Tower’s summit closes as Europe sizzles

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and JOSEPH WILSON PARIS AP Barcelona recorded its hottest June in over a century the summit of Paris iconic Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors and hundreds of French schools shut on Tuesday as Europe sizzled in its first major heat wave of the summer Physical condition warnings remained in effect in several European countries The worst was felt in southern Europe while punishing temperatures were forecast to reach degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit in Paris and to stay unusually high in Belgium and the Netherlands Men jump into the water on a hot day in Barcelona Spain Tuesday July AP Photo Emilio Morenatti The abnormally hot weather is exposing millions of Europeans to high heat stress with temperatures in June more typical of July and August declared Samantha Burgess of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts This June is likely to be among the five hottest on record it commented Barcelona s Fabra Observatory shared an average temperature for last month of C F urgent records since books were started in The previous hottest average for June was C in The same weather station mentioned that a single-day high of degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit for June was recorded Monday Hot Mediterranean soup Barcelona is usually spared the worst heat in Spain thanks to its location between hills and the Mediterranean in Spain s northeastern corner But bulk of the country has been gripped by the extreme heat We are seeing these temperatures because we are experiencing a very intense heat wave that has come early in the summer and that is clearly linked to global warming Ram n Pascual a delegate for Spain s weather institution in Barcelona stated The Associated Press on Tuesday Related Articles Hurricane Flossie could become a major hurricane off the Pacific coast of Mexico Royal train will end years of utility as King Charles III seeks to economize International charities and NGOs call for end to controversial Israeli-backed aid group in Gaza Iran assesses the damage and lashes out after Israeli and US strikes damage its nuclear sites In current times in History July Judge Clarence Thomas nominated to the Supreme Court Pascual added that the inhabitants of the Mediterranean region are not being helped by the rising sea temperatures which greatly reduces any cooling effects of a nearby body of water Spain s weather amenity mentioned that fresh surface temperatures for the Mediterranean near the Balearic Islands are between - degrees Celsius higher than average With water surface temperatures from - Celsius - F it is complex for our nights to be refreshing he commented Spain s national average for June of degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit was C hotter than the previous hottest June in It was also the first time that June was hotter than the average temperatures for both July and August Spain also saw a new high mark for June established on Saturday when degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in the southern province of Huelva The streets were scorching as well in Spain s capital with Madrid forecast to reach degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit as people tried to keep cool by drinking refrigerated drinks and sticking to the shade But the hot nights offered little relief Nowadays is very bad but on the previous day wasn t any better So we re just surviving noted Miguel Sopera At night it s impossible due to the terrible heat France suffocates In France the national weather agency M t o-France placed several departments under the highest red alert with the Paris region particularly hard hit More than schools in the country were partially or fully closed Visitors to the Eiffel Tower without tickets were narrated to postpone their visits as the summit of the city s landmark was closed until Thursday The operators declared the closure was to ensure everyone s comfort and safety Weather experts warn that future summers are likely to be hotter than any recorded to date By France could be up to degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit warmer with temperatures exceeding degrees Celsius expected every year and extreme heat spikes potentially reaching degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit Man dies in Italy Farther south of Italy s major cities were experiencing a heat wave according to the strength ministry There were torrential rains in Italy s north on Monday and parts of Bardonecchia near Turin were covered in sludge after the Frejus river burst its banks People use umbrellas in hot weather to shelter from the sun while walking past the Colosseum in Rome Monday June AP Photo Andrew Medichini Near Bologna one of the cities under a heat alert Tuesday the -year-old owner of a construction company collapsed and died while repaving a school parking lot state-run RAI stated An autopsy was being conducted to determine the cause but heat was suspected The Netherlands is sweating In the Dutch town of Soest first responders noted they were bringing a firehose to an early evening water gun fight Bring your water pistol and swimming clothes with you because you re guaranteed to get soaked the firefighters commented in an Instagram post Portugal s record The Portuguese weather facility issued a message Monday night confirming the highest single temperature ever recorded in mainland Portugal for the month of June at degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit on June in the town of Mora west of Lisbon The prior record was degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit in Wildfires in Turkey Firefighters across Turkey tried to contain wildfires that have forced the evacuation of certain residents for the third consecutive day Relieving animals in Prague Temperatures were expected to reach degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit by Wednesday in large parts of the Czech Republic including the capital The Prague zoo distributed up to metric tons of ice daily across the park with especial attention given to polar bears native to the Arctic Zoo director Miroslav Bobek explained twin brother bears Aleut and Gregor looked pleased when they exposed parts of their open-air enclosure covered with a thick layer of ice Tuesday morning They rolled on their backs and discovered frozen pieces of squid Wilson broadcasted from Barcelona Spain Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London Barry Hatton in Lisbon Portugal Iain Sullivan in Madrid Mike Corder in The Netherlands Suzan Fraser in Ankara Turkey Karel Janicek in Prague and David Biller in Rome contributed to this review