Portugal's weather agency says temperature records amid heatwave

Temperatures in Portugal are forecast to keep building on Friday, to around 45 degrees, and peaking at 47 degrees in some places on Saturday.

Portugal's weather agency says eight places in the center, south and east of the country have broken their local temperature records amid a heatwave.

The IPMA says the highest temperature recorded yesterday was 45.2 degrees Celsius (113.4 Fahrenheit) near Abrantes, a town 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, Lisbon.

Temperatures in Portugal are forecast to keep building on Friday, to around 45 degrees, and peaking at 47 degrees in some places on Saturday.

Portugal's highest temperature ever recorded was 47.4 degrees (117.3 Fahrenheit) in 2003.

Meteorologists say temperatures are being driven higher by a hot air mass moving northward from Africa, which is also bringing dust from the Sahara Desert.

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

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)