Little relief at night
The night was providing little relief in some parts of Spain, with temperatures failing to drop below 25 C or even 30 C in places like the southwestern province of Almeria, Aemet said.
Europe on Monday was the continent furthest from its historic norm, with an average high temperature of 24 C, which was 4.1 C above what was typical from 1961-1990, according to the climate monitor. By comparison, Asia and North America were 2 C and 1.3 C above the historic norm.
Wildlife shelters in northern Europe were struggling to cope with the number of animals being brought in suffering from the heat.
Birds such as swifts, swallows, sparrows and starlings, which make their nests in the eaves of roofs, have been particularly affected by abnormally high temperatures, said Romaine de Jaegere, a biologist and founder of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Animals Living in the Wild (Creaves) wildlife refuge in Temploux in Belgium.
“Temperatures on the roofs can sometimes reach 50, even 60 degrees Celsius. So they prefer to jump rather than let themselves die and literally cook in their nests,” De Jaegere told Reuters, adding that the shelter had received 150 animals in the last three days.
Spain’s Labor Ministry on Monday said it was monitoring whether companies were complying with laws that allow workers to reduce or adjust their working hours when orange or red weather alerts are issued.
Workers are also entitled to up to four days of paid leave if they are unable to reach their workplace due to weather conditions, it said.