Austria set a new national high temperature record Thursday when the mercury climbed to 40.5ºC (104.9ºF) in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, a town near the Slovakian border. The Austrian meteorological service ZAMG reports two other locations recorded readings at or above 40 C on August 8, making it the first time the country has ever eclipsed the 40 C mark since daily records began in 1858.