The record reading was taken in Stammersdorf, on the eastern edge of the capital, GeoSphere Austria said in a statement. It edges out the previous national peak of 40.5C, set on 8 August, 2013 in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in eastern Austria. Austria has just logged its fourth-warmest July on record and, “at some measuring stations, the precipitation deficit reached 90%”, the agency said. In neighbouring Slovakia, Bratislava hit 40.8C — its highest temperature ever recorded — breaking the record set just a day earlier of 39.9C, according to the weather service. In Greece, firefighters are battling a major wildfire near Athens, while Italy is placing nearly all of its major cities on the highest “red” alert for dangerous heat.