First heatwave of the year bakes Madrid

(21 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Madrid, Spain - 21 June 2026 1. Various of digital thermometer displaying temperature of 38 ºC (100.4°F) 2. Decorative Spanish fans displayed outside a shop 4. Wide of women walking near bus stop displaying 42°C (107.6°F) 5. Temperature display showing 43°C 6. Wide of people in Madrid shielding themselves from intense heat with umbrellas 7. People in a shaded outdoor café 8. Wide of cooling mist system operating in a shaded area 9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sonsoles Calvo, chemistry student: "(I am) Going to places with air conditioning. staying in the shade, drinking water, and wetting my hair all the time." 10. Wide of windows with white sheets hanging to protect against the sun 11. Woman fanning herself 12. Wide of people in Madrid gathering around a public fountain to cool off 13. Person filling a water bottle at a public fountain 14. SOUNDBITE (English) Carol Schwarzartl, travel agent: "Madrid today is very, very hot. It's almost 40 degrees, but it's beautiful, so just come to Madrid and it doesn't matter about the hot weather." 15. Wide of people in Madrid gathering around public fountain to cool off 16. Person filling a water bottle at a public fountain 17. People seeking shade and refreshments outside a café 18. Wide of people gathering at outdoor cafes 19. People sitting at an outdoor cafe with drinks on the table 20. Drinks on table 21. Person fanning themselves 22. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Liliana Do Santos, store clerk: "Terrible, just getting into nice cool places with good cold beer and fresh water. It horrible, this heat is unbearable, horrible." 23. Various of people enjoying cold drinks and ice cream 24. SOUNDBITE (French) Jules Crouzier, marketing student: "I try to go into places where there is air conditioning. My sister has a fan or stuff like that, I'm just trying to make sure I'm just as cool as I can, or else I'm going to have a drink." 25. Wide of people walking under sunshades STORYLINE: Spain kicked off the summer with large parts of the country on alert due to temperatures expected to hover around 40 C (104 F). In the capital, Madrid, tourists and locals sought shade, cold drinks and ice cream to keep cool. The city is under weather alerts for extreme heat and thunderstorms, issued by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). The heat wave is expected to scorch Spain at least through Wednesday. Hot weather alerts are also expected in the interior of Basque Country, a northern region that typically experiences cooler temperatures. More than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes over the last four years, and most of the fatalities were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month. AP video by Alicia Leon Perea =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...