Europe risk surpassing the continents all-time high of 48 degrees Celsius this weekend.

Europe under a heatwave! Temperatures risk surpassing the continent’s all-time high of 48 degrees Celsius this weekend, according to meteorologists. Most areas were due to peak on Friday, Portugal, Spain and France faced even hotter weather over the weekend. Lisbon could be hotter than Death Valley, forecasters said, after Portugal topped Europe’s temperature scales on Friday with 45.2C recorded at Abrantes, some 93 miles northeast of the capital. Eight places in the centre, south and east of Portugal have broken their local temperature records and the heat is forecast to to peak at 47 degrees in some places on Saturday. Spain is not far behind on the heat front, with many areas expected to remain above 40C at least until Sunday, and could rise a further two or three degrees. The Spanish Government issued an alert warning about the "extreme risk" caused by the "intense and lasting heat". What’s to come over in the next few days is going to be extreme and perhaps record-breaking Northern Europe is also suffering. Sweden's official tallest point is set to change amid record temperatures, as it faces wildfire risks as far as the Arctic circle. Scientists said a glacier on Mount Kebnekaise, the Scandinavian country's highest peak at 6,925 feet, 10 inches, is melting and is no longer Sweden's tallest point. Authorities on both sides of the Baltic Sea, in Sweden and Poland, have advised against swimming due to a huge bloom of heat-fuelled toxic algae. Norwegian authorities have urged motorists to watch out for reindeer that are seeking refuge in tunnels to cool themselves due to extreme heat in the far North. The extreme heat has prompted a raft of unusual measures across the EU, from gorillas being given banana ice cubes to cool down in one French zoo to Austria’s famous fiaker carriages being grounded to avoid the horses keeling over from heatstroke. Meanwhile Swiss soldiers have been authorised to swap their official uniform for shorts and T-shirts. The police in Zurich are advising owners to put shoes on their four-legged friends to avoid burning their paws in a special “Hot Dog” campaign. As for Italy, its dairy sector says cows are producing 15 per cent less milk to due to the dry grass. The hot air mass from North Africa, which has brought with it a yellowish hue from the Sahara, could see Europe break its hottest ever recorded temperature.