The ferocious heatwave, which began earlier this week, has disrupted France, forcing the cancellation of some train services and the suspension of classes.
“Very high temperatures are settling in for the long term across the country,” Meteo-France said as it announced the highest heatwave warning for 35 of France’s departments, or administrative regions, for Sunday – the most ever.
The forecaster is predicting that starting on Monday, temperatures could reach 41 degrees Celsius in some places, and that the average reading across the whole country could reach its highest ever.
However, France is still prepared to host its annual Fete de la Musique street music festival in the boiling heat, but with some restrictions.
To minimise health risks, the government there announced a ban on alcohol consumption during the festivities in departments under red alert.
“Alcohol and high temperatures really do not mix well,” Health Minister Stephanie Rist told French daily Le Parisien.
In Spain, the public screening of the country’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid later on Sunday was cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital.
Madrid city council and the Spanish football federation decided to cancel the screening after the country’s weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius.
Large parts of Spain are also experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
Britain, Switzerland and Germany had all raised alert levels ahead of the weekend, as have some cities in northern and central Italy. (AFP)