Spain, Portugal smash April temperature records

Mainland Spain and Portugal have broken temperature records for April, officials said Friday. The mercury hit 38.8 degrees Celsius in the airport in Spain's southern city of Cordoba on Thursday, beating a previous record of 38.6C in the eastern city of Elche, national weather office AEMET said.

The highest temperature for all of Spain in the month of April, however, was recorded in 2013 in the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa when the mercury hit 40.2C.In neighbouring Portugal, temperatures in the central town of Mora reached 36.9C on Thursday, breaking the record of 36C set in April 1945 in the northeastern town of Pinhao, weather agency IPMA said.

The scorching temperatures have prompted warnings about the high risk of wildfires and worsened drought conditions.Last year, Spain experienced its hottest year since records began, with UN figures suggesting nearly 75 percent of its land is susceptible to desertification due to climate change.