Large stretches of Portugal have been put on a state of alert due to the "very high risk" of wildfires and scorching temperatures.
Residents and holidaymakers in the Western European country have been urged to be careful due to the threat of blazes breaking out.
The country is in the grips of a serious drought due to temperatures fired up by the effects of man-made climate change.
In the coming days the mercury is likely to pass 43C, further drying out tinder-box dry countryside.
An eight day state of alert has been declared by the Portuguese government, five years after wildfires killed 100 people in a single summer.
Restrictions adopted today include barring public access to forests deemed to be at special risk, banning the use of farm machinery that might produce sparks, and outlawing fireworks that are commonly used at summer festivals.
More than 70 municipalities in the districts of Santarém, Leiria, Coimbra, Viseu, Castelo Branco, Portalegre, Guarda, Vila Real, Bragança and Faro have been judged to be at the maximum risk of rural fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere.
“Given the weather forecasts for the next few days, which point to a significant worsening of the risk of rural fire, the ministers of National Defence, Internal Administration, Health, Environment and Climate Action and Agriculture and Food today determined the declaration of the alert situation throughout the continent”, said a statement from the Ministry of Internal Administration.
The European Commission predicted earlier this year that summer 2022 would be a particularly gruelling one for those living in hotter parts of the continent.
France, Spain and Italy have already endured spells of frighteningly high temperatures.
Having cooled down after several weeks of temperatures hanging around the 40C mark, the mercury is predicted to creep back up to 42C in parts of Spain over the weekend.
Spain's June rainfall was about half the 30-year average, and the country's reservoirs are on average at 45 per cent capacity.
Italy has also sweated through a prolonged heat wave and is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years.
The outlook in the more northerly UK is significantly better over the coming week.
Much of the south of England will bask in temperatures over 30C next week as a period of hot but not stifling weather sets in over the Isles.
