Swathes of southern Europe bake as temperatures soar

Weather forecasters say a large mass of hot air is travelling across the Mediterranean from North Africa.

Transcript

00:00Southern Europe is experiencing extreme heat as a wave of hot air from Africa sweeps across

00:07the region.

00:10In Rome, temperatures have soared to above 40 degrees Celsius, causing the Italian health

00:15ministry to place it under the most severe heat warning, along with 13 other Italian

00:21cities.

00:23Four people have already died from heat in the capital.

00:30Madrid has seen temperatures rise to the high 30s and the government has introduced a heat

00:36risk awareness campaign which could result in the banning of work outdoors.

00:43Six other Spanish regions are also under alerts for high temperatures.

00:49In Greece, outdoor work such as manual labour, deliveries and construction has already been

00:54banned during the hottest time of the day.

00:58Nighttime temperatures in parts of Athens have remained above 30 degrees for the past

01:0310 days.

01:07In Portugal, around 14 municipalities are reported to be at risk of rural fires due

01:12to the hot weather.

01:15Temperatures also remain high in Lisbon, where people have headed to the beach to cope with

01:19the warmth.

01:21The heat wave is expected to last until Sunday.