4 More Die in Spain as Europe Battles Heat

Blistering heat caused four more deaths in Spain on Tuesday as Europe baked in relentless weather that has disrupted travel and cooked the Mediterranean enough for one scientist to warn of a proliferation of jellyfish.

Temperatures soared above 100 degrees across the continent, and forecasters in France and Britain predicted record highs for today.

In Spain, temperatures peaked at 106 degrees Tuesday in the southern cities of Seville and Cordoba and reached 104 degrees in Madrid, the capital.

Three elderly women died in the southern region of Andalusia and one died in Ciudad Real in the central region of Castile-La Mancha, raising the overall death toll in Spain to 14 in a week of suffocating temperatures.

In Paris, tourists sought relief in public fountains and in the shade near the Eiffel Tower.

Temperatures also were high in Italy, even in the mountains. It was nearly 90 degrees in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a popular resort in the Dolomites.

At least 25 people have been treated for heat-related problems in the northeastern city of Trieste, said Dr. Sergio Gregorutti of Cattinara Hospital.

Four nuclear plants in Germany cut production drastically to avoid overheating water.

Water temperatures were up by as many as three degrees from last summer off Spain’s Mediterranean coast, said Jorge Olcina of the Climatology Laboratory at the University of Alicante.

The weather could cause the jellyfish population to flourish because heat accelerates their reproductive cycle, he told the Spanish news agency Efe.