A heat dome, where warm air from North Africa has been trapped beneath a strong high-pressure system, is behind the heatwave in parts of Europe, bringing temperatures not usually seen until the height of summer.
In France, Monday was the hottest May day on record so far, the weather agency Météo-France announced. Seven deaths have been recorded in the country in recent days directly or indirectly linked to the heat, French government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told TF1.
In the UK, a heat record for May was also broken on Monday, with 34.8 degrees Celsius in Kew Gardens in southwest London, two degrees above the previous highest temperature.
In Spain, temperatures are expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius later this week. In some parts of Italy, restrictions have been imposed on outdoor work.
Human-caused climate change is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts and floods more intense, and Europe is warming faster than the global average.
