Temperature records that stood for four decades are falling in Europe

ROME -- At the peak of tourist season, temperature records that have stood for four decades are falling in Europe. It was expected to reach 115 degrees in Cordoba, Spain, and 109 degrees in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday. The two countries are getting the brunt of the hot air that has blown in from Africa. 

Wildfires, which are a regular problem in summer months, are fueled by the hot, dry conditions. Last week, parts of Greece were devastated by fires that took the lives of more than 90 people.

Other countries are feeling the impact. In Rome, the famed Spanish Steps were so hot that one family gave up on their photo op. One man said the steps were too hot to sit on.

The city of Rome distributed 8,000 bottles of water earlier this week to try to stave off dehydration, and the city's zoo fed blocks of ice and refreshing fruit to its tigers and hippos in an effort to keep them cool, CBS News' Seth Doane reported.

Farmers in Germany are seeking more than $1 billion in drought aid. And farmers in the U.K. are feeling the same pain. Cattle farmer Simon Maiklem figures the drought already cost him $40,000. He said that if the high temperatures were to become a regular thing, he'd have to change the way he farms.

Justin Worland, Time magazine's climate reporter, blames the unusually hot air on warming arctic temperatures due to greenhouse gasses.

"So what we see right now is really a warning sign of what's to come," Worland said. "Human fingerprints are all over this particular heatwave."

A mountain glacier in Sweden melted so much that it's no longer the country's highest point. Down at sea level, folks flocked to the beach or to ice cream stands. But any relief was fleeting.