Several countries in western Europe have issued red heat alerts as the continent faces record-breaking temperatures exceeding 40°C.
France is among the countries worst affected, with the third hottest day ever recorded on Monday as the national average temperature hit 29.2°C.
According to Météo-France, 20% of the country exceeded the 40°C threshold. Highs are expected to continue until at least Thursday.
In Paris, parks and gardens will stay open 24/7 so people have somewhere to cool off, and swimming is allowed in Canal Saint-Martin from Wednesday.
Spain has also issued a heat wave alert from Sunday until Wednesday.
The country’s meteorological agency, AEMET, has said that the warm Saharan air, combined with the high levels of sunshine at this time of year, has meant that temperatures could hit 44°C in parts of Spain today.
The UK’s Met Office has issued a red alert for extreme heat for Wednesday and Thursday for large parts of south and central England and Wales.
Temperatures could rise to 38 to 40°C in some places, and the heat will be accompanied by high humidity.
The Met Office has warned of adverse health effects, a high risk of the loss of power and services such as water, electricity and mobile phone services, and busy coastal areas, lakes and rivers, that could see an uptick in water safety incidents.
In Italy, the Ministry of Health has issued level three heat wave bulletins for several cities, including Bologna, Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin, Venice and Verona for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Other popular tourist destinations such as Bari, Naples and Palermo have level two alerts in place.
MeteoSwiss has issued level four heatwave alerts for parts of the country, including northwest Switzerland, the Lake Geneva region, and central Valais.
The alerts will remain in place until Saturday. Temperatures of between 34 and 37°C on the southern side of the Alps are expected to be “widespread”.
Luxembourg’s Weather and Flood Risk Assessment Unit (CERI) has issued a red alert until the end of the week.
Average temperatures of between 35 and 40°C are expected, with a peak on Wednesday. The news comes as the country celebrates its National Day today, 23 June.
Organisers are adapting their plans to protect the most vulnerable, with heat-related risk prevention measures in place, such as increasing the availability of water points at events.
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