Deadly record-breaking heatwave continues to rock Europe

LARGE parts of Europe continued to swelter yesterday under a record-breaking heatwave that has already caused deadly forest fires, a crisis for many farmers and dangerously high ozone levels.

In Portugal, nine people have been killed in the worst wave of forest fires in recent history. With 15 out of the country's 18 regions affected, the government was preparing to announce a state of emergency to allow aid funds to be unblocked.

Fires were also raging in parts of southern and central Spain, where temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) were blamed for the deaths of at least seven people in recent days.