In countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, and the United Kingdom, there are warnings for high temperatures.
According to the news agency EFE, Portugal is expected to reach up to 44 degrees on Sunday in the district of Beja, near the border with Extremadura and Andalusia in Spain.
In Spain, the country's national weather service Aemet has issued warnings that cover almost the entire country, with the highest temperatures above 40 degrees in the south and southwest.
On Saturday, a new record for June was set with 46 degrees in the village of El Granado in Huelva, Andalusia, according to Aemet. The previous June record of 45.2 degrees is from Seville and 1965, reports El Correo.
Spain's highest temperature ever, 47.4 degrees, was measured in the country's southern part four years ago.
In several places, including Córdoba, Seville, and Badajoz, the temperature has exceeded 40 degrees by far. Even the night against Sunday has been very warm: on Gran Canaria, the temperature did not go below 30 degrees locally.
Extensive warnings
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued warnings to Swedish travelers before the weekend.
There are not many people out and walking, or children out and playing. People go out in the evening instead, says Eva Johansson to Svenska Dagbladet.
She is on vacation in Pilar de la Horadada, south of Alicante
It's so hot outside that it stings the skin, says Johansson.
Several Italian regions are considering banning certain work activities during the hottest hours of the day. Lazio, Tuscany, Calabria, Apulia, and Umbria are among the regions that plan to introduce measures in response to the rising temperatures, according to Euronews.
We were going to visit the Colosseum but my mom almost fainted, said British tourist Anna Becker to the news agency AFP. She had traveled to Rome from a "sweltering and miserable" Verona.
Temperature records for the month have been measured in several places in Morocco during the last two days. In some parts of the country, it has been up to 20 degrees warmer than normal for the season, according to the meteorological institute DGM. In the city of Ben Guerir in the interior, 46.4 degrees were reached.
More common in the USA
Hilda Westberg, meteorologist at SMHI, explains that the heat wave forms when warm, humid air from the sea is collected and trapped, and through a downward movement, clouds and cooler air are pushed away.
It becomes hot and the ground dries. When it dries, it becomes even hotter, and the ground dries even more. This is more common in the USA than in Europe, she says.
The extreme heat will not affect Sweden, but a small part of it can southern Sweden still get during the beginning of the week, when temperatures are expected to be slightly above normal.
The public in the affected areas in Europe is urged to avoid strenuous activities during the hours when the heat is worst and to drink plenty of water, especially vulnerable groups such as the elderly and small children.
Several countries in Europe have issued warnings for the heat.
One of them is Portugal. The entire southern part of the country, except for Faro, has a red warning due to the heat wave, according to Portugal's meteorological institute IPMA.
Red is the authority's highest level and means extreme weather. They have also issued a very high to maximum fire risk in the regions of Norte, Centro, and Algarve.
The Italian Ministry of Health has issued its highest heat warning for 17 of 27 monitored cities, including Rome, Milan, and Naples.
In France, an orange warning has been issued for several areas on Sunday with estimated temperatures above 35 degrees. The heat is expected to worsen until the middle of next week, according to Le Monde.
