'Unprecedented' alerts in France as blistering heat grips Europe
Sixteen French regions, including Paris, have been placed on red alert for Tuesday, the country's highest, while 68 others are on orange alert.
On Monday, 84 of 96 mainland regions were under an orange alert, which France's Climate Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher called an "unprecedented" situation.
Heat warnings are also in place for parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, the UK and Balkan countries including Croatia.
Both Spain and Portugal had their hottest June days on record at the weekend.
El Granado in Andalucía saw a temperature of 46C on Saturday, while 46.6C was recorded in the town of Mora in central Portugal on Sunday.
Many countries have emergency medical services on standby and have warned people to stay inside as much as possible.
Nearly 200 schools across France have been closed or partially closed as a result of the heatwave, which has gripped parts of Europe for more than a week now but is expected to peak mid-week.
France's red alert will come into effect at 12:00 local time on Tuesday.
Several forest fires broke out in the southern Corbières mountain range on Sunday, leading to evacuations and the closure of a motorway. The fires have since been contained, officials told French media.
Meanwhile, 21 Italian cities are also on the highest alert, including Rome, Milan and Venice, as is Sardinia.
Mario Guarino, vice-president of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine, told AFP news agency that hospital emergency departments across the country had reported a 10% increase in heatstroke cases.
Parts of the UK were just shy of being one of the hottest June days ever on Monday.
The highest UK temperature of the day was recorded at Heathrow Airport in London at 33.1C. Meanwhile, Wimbledon recorded a temperature of 32.9C, the tennis tournament's hottest opening day on record.
Meanwhile, heat alerts across Spain, which is on course to record its hottest June on record, remained in place.
"I can't sleep well and have insomnia. I also get heat strokes, I stop eating and I just can't focus," Anabel Sanchez, 21, told Reuters news agency in Seville.
It is a similar situation in Portugal, where seven districts, including the capital, Lisbon, are on the highest alert level.
In Germany, the country's meteorological service warned that temperatures could reach almost 38C on Tuesday and Wednesday - further potentially record-breaking temperatures.
The heatwave lowered levels in the Rhine River - a major shipping route - limiting the amount cargo ships can transport and raising freighting costs. — BBC
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