Dramatic images capture Europe's sweltering heatwave as temperatures set to reach all-time record

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Europeans resorted to drastic measures to cool off as a relentless heatwave swept across the continent.

Images from across Europe show hot and bothered people dunking their feet in buckets of ice and wading into the sea as sweltering temperatures put some areas on red alert.

Here in Britain, the mercury is expected to reach 32C with last week's heatwave set to make a return.

Eight locations in Portugal broke local temperature records Friday as a wave of heat from North Africa swept across the Iberian peninsula - and officials predicted the scorching temperatures could get even worse over the weekend.

Pensioners cool off in Belgium as temperatures soar
REUTERS

Temperatures increased to around 45C on Friday in mainly inland areas of Portugal, and were expected to peak at 47C in some places on Saturday.

Large sections of Portugal are on red alert on the Civil Protection Agency's danger scale.

The highest temperature recorded on Thursday, when the heat began to rise, was 45.2 C near Abrantes, a town 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, Lisbon, the country's weather agency IPMA said.

Visitors enjoy a ride at the open-air aquapark 'Dreamland' in Minsk, Belarus
EPA

Portugal's highest ever recorded temperature was 47.4 C in 2003.

Emergency services have issued a red alert through Sunday, placing extra services such as medical staff and firefighters on standby.

In Portugal's southern Alentejo province, streets were largely deserted. Some farmers chose to work during the night instead of in the heat of the day. Beaches around Lisbon, the capital, were packed.

A man refresh himself in a fountain in Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain
EPA

In Portugal's Algarve region, some 400 firefighters and fie water-dropping aircraft are battling a wildfire.

Portugal sees large wildfires every year, although unseasonably cool weather through the end of July has meant fewer blazes in 2018. The government says only about 15 percent of the 10-year average area has been charred so far this year.

Temperatures were being driven higher across the Iberian peninsula by a hot air mass moving northward from Africa, which is also bringing dust from the Sahara Desert, meteorologists said. The dust gave the sky a dark yellow hue in some places.

In Spain, heat warnings were also issued for 41 of the country's 50 provinces as temperatures were expected to reach up to 44 C. Spain's highest recorded temperature is 46.9 C in Cordoba, a southern city, in July 2017.

A woman protects herself with an umbrella as she walks at Plaza Mayor, as temperatures soar across Europe, in Madrid Spain
REUTERS

The World Meteorological Organisation says continental Europe's record is 48 C in Greece in 1977.

In northern Europe, Sweden was still under threat from wildfires, which in recent weeks have extended into the Arctic Circle.

Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency warned of "a high risk" for wildfires in central and southern Sweden this weekend because of the continuing dry weather and strong winds.

In Moscow, as temperatures rose to close to 30 C, city authorities announced they were opening hundreds of "cool rooms" where residents could rest amid air conditioning, with water dispensers and medical attendants.

Visitors cool down in foam at the open-air aquapark 'Dreamland' in Minsk, Belarus
EPA

Although that temperature is far below the blazing heat hitting southern Europe, it's well above the Russian capital's average August maximum of 23 C.

In Britain, an unusually long, torrid summer has taken its toll on the country's flowers. Morrisons has begun selling "wonky" flowers that have not developed properly.

The UK's Met Office weather service says July was the country's third-warmest month in more than a century.

A woman cools herself riding a bicycle through a fountain at a park in Moscow, Russia
AP

The Met Office said the mercury could soar as high as 32C in the capital on Friday, before a similarly warm and sunny weekend.

Temperatures across the country are also likely to climb back up to high 20s and low 30s after thunderstorms brought a temporary end to the prolonged hot spell last weekend.

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