Relief is finally arriving Sunday from a heat wave that sent temperatures soaring across western Europe at the end of last week, breaking records in Spain.
San Sebastian on Spain's northern coast saw temperatures of 107 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday -- the hottest temperature there since records began in 1955, the national weather agency said.
The city of Palma, on Spain's Mediterranean island of Mallorca, set a local record of 105 degrees on Tuesday.
On Friday, temperatures reached 100.04 degrees at Heathrow Airport west of London
In Italy, more than a dozen Italian cities were put on alert as temperatures peaked around 104 degrees on Friday and Saturday.
Tourists and residents in Rome tried their best to escape the sweltering conditions by staying in the shade and cooling down in public fountains
Forecasters said the heat wave was fueled by hot air coming northward from Africa.
"Climate change is increasing the frequency of heat waves," adding that the annual number of days in heatwave conditions has doubled since the 1980s.
