Portugal has set a new hottest day in May with 40.3C recorded in the central town of Mora, as countries in western Europe grapple with sweltering-hot weather.

The temperature recorded on Wednesday bests Portugal’s previous record of 40C set in May 2001.

Ministers in France are meeting to assess the country’s preparedness for heatwaves, while tennis number one Jannik Sinner bowed out of the French Open after suffering from the heat. Meanwhile, Italian authorities have issued a red heatwave alert for the capital, Rome, where it could top out at 32C on Thursday.

The heatwave is forecast to continue into the weekend, with Germany, Spain and Switzerland having also faced unusually hot conditions.

Parts of Portugal will peak above 35C on Thursday and Friday before the heat begins to recede, according to the nation’s meteorological office.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu chaired a ministerial meeting on Thursday afternoon to develop a readiness plan for extreme heat events, including combatting forest fires and ensuring adequate water supplies over the summer.

Baccalaureate exams – the French equivalent of A-levels – will continue during the heatwaves, despite some schools having to shut their doors due to inhospitable temperatures inside.

A primary school in Souston, in the Landes region, will remain shut on Thursday and Friday after it reached 53C inside earlier in the week, a local official told French media.

Education Minister Édouard Geffray told BFMTV that exam centres would be able to choose rooms with the most shade, adding that exams would go ahead “simply because the students are prepared and… there is also a schedule according to which they expect their results”.

The decision has attracted criticism from education unions and teachers, with one telling French radio of teachers “forced to bring in their own fans”.

A survey by France’s secondary school union found nearly 78% had recorded temperatures above 30C this week, and said it had received reports of teachers bringing in screwdrivers to prise windows open.

Seventeen departments of France – in the north-west, as well as Paris – are under an orange alert, indicating people should be “very vigilant” about the weather.

Temperatures are expected to reach 33C in Paris on Thursday, and top out at 34C on both Saturday and Sunday.

Police have announced measures to ease traffic in the capital until Saturday, including only allowing lower-emission cars on roads and lowering speed limits. A single fare for the entire public transport network will be offered at the same time.

At the French Open in Paris, Sinner appeared to be cruising to a victory before suddenly taking a turn for the worse.

The Italian complained of dizziness and feeling lethargic before hitting a wall.

“It was a tough spot to be in,” he commented afterwards, but added: “Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.”

Meanwhile, Italy’s red alert in Rome – as well as in Florence, Bologna, Brescia and Turin – is the first of the year, warning of “possible negative effects on the health of healthy, active people”.

Temperatures will climb to 35C in Madrid over the weekend. Though the current spell does not officially qualify as a heatwave in Spain, the nation’s meteorological office has said the heat is that usually seen in July and August.

The immediate cause of the heatwave is a “heat dome” – an area of high pressure that becomes “stuck”, trapping warm air underneath it.

While it is difficult to link individual extreme weather events to climate change, scientists say climate change makes heatwaves more frequent and more intense.

Over the last 30 years, Europe has been warming by 0.56C per decade, according to the Copernicus climate service – enough to make heat extremes significantly more severe.

The UN warned on Thursday that global average temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels this year and for the next four years.

The 11 hottest years ever recorded all happened from 2015 onwards, and the UN’s weather and climate agency said this trend was predicted to continue, with a new hottest-ever year “likely” before 2031.

[BBC]

Scotland crushed Netherlands by nine wickets and 31 balls to spare in the first match of the tri-series also involving Bangladesh in Edinburgh. Left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon,  in her first T20I for Scotland after switching from England, whom she had represented in the 2018 T20 World Cup, led the bowling effort with 3 for 27.

Half-centuries from opening batters Katherine Fraser (56*) and Darcey Carter (55)  took Scotland to the 142 target.

Netherlands elected to bat first and motored along to 47 for 1 in four overs. Opener Heather Siegers took the initiative in attacking the Scotland bowlers, but departed next ball for 32 off 16 balls, during which she hit seven fours. Allrounder Kathryn Bryce dismissed Siegers, and that wicket slowed Netherlands down. Babette de Leede and Robine Rijke then patiently added 22, but Netherlands lost 3 for 9 in just over two overs.

Gordon had struck twice as Netherlands found themselves at 78 for 5 in the 11th over. But Rijke and Frederique Overdijk started the recovery. They steadied Netherlands with a 53-run stand in 45 balls, which was broken when Fraser got Overdijk for 22. Rijke was next to fall for 46, which helped Netherlands post 141.

Scotland got the chase off to a flyer. Carter hit four boundaries in the first three overs, during which Scotland scored 28. They were 30 for 0 after four overs, before Isabel van der Woning bowled a 12-ball over which cost 29 runs. That included nine runs off wides, one off a no-ball, and 16 off four boundaries.

Carter reached her fifty off 33 balls in the tenth over, by the end of which Scotland were cruising at 94 without loss. Overdijk got Carter next over to break the 100-run opening stand, but that blow proved to be too late for Netherlands.

Fraser got to her half-century off the second ball of the 15th over, before Kathryn Bryce ended the chase with a boundary three balls later.

Brief scores:
Scotland Women 144 for 1 in 14.5 overs  (Katherine Fraser 56*, Darcey Carter 55, Kathryn Bryce 23*; Fredrique Overdijk 1-18) beat Netherlands Women 141 for 8 in 20 overs (Heather Siegers 32, Babette de Leede 14, Robin Rijke 46, Fredrique Overdijke 22; Kathryn Bryce 1-31, Kirstie Gordon 3-27, Priyansz Chatterji 1-22, Katherine Fraser 1-19) by nine wickets

[Cricinfo]