Heat, Fires Ravage European Union

It's hot in Spain and Portugal. And it's only going to get hotter, thanks to a surge of hot air coming in from Africa, the BBC reports. "Friday and Saturday are likely to be the hottest days with a very real chance of breaking records," says forecaster Meteogroup. Spain's record high is 117.1 Fahrenheit (set last July). For Portugal, it's 117.3 (set in 2003). Meteogroup also says there is a 40% chance the overall European temperature record of 118.4 (set in Athens in 1977) will be broken. In addition to the extreme heat, fires are ripping through many European countries, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fires in Greece, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Latvia have killed dozens of people and forced evacuations. Norwegian drivers are being warned that reindeer and sheep may be escaping the heat in road tunnels. In Germany, decreased water levels in the Elbe River revealed previously submerged grenades and ammunition from WWII. (More extreme heat stories.)