Europe swelters as temperatures in France could hit 40C

Much of Western Europe is sweltering in a gruelling heatwave with temperatures expected to continue rising in the coming days, likely shattering yet more records.

France has been hit hard, with hundreds of schools tweaking their timetables to cope.

Forecasters warned of an "intense and long-lasting" heatwave that could see temperatures in the Paris region soar above 40C for the first time on a June day.

It is estimated that more than half of France's population is dealing with scorching temperatures.

Around 41 million of the country's 69 million residents are affected by an orange heat alert issued by the weather office, the second-highest category, according to a calculation based on population figures from the national statistics agency.

The forecaster urged residents to be "very cautious" and said the conditions would be "widespread, prolonged and intense".

President Emmanuel Macron called for "great vigilance" and for "taking care of the oldest, the most vulnerable".

Health Minister Stephanie Rist urged young people to be "really careful with alcohol and physical activity" as France gears up for its annual "La Fete de la Musique" on Sunday, a nationwide music festival when millions of people usually dance in the streets nationwide.

The country has just experienced its hottest spring since records began in 1900, with the average nationwide temperature from March to May around 1.7C above the norm.

Across the continent, authorities are ramping up warnings of extreme weather.

German forecasters said that parts of the country needed to be on alert for thunderstorms, hail and heavy rain over the weekend.

Meteorologists confirmed that England and Wales had already experienced their hottest spring on record, though temperatures in Britain are not expected to be as intense as in continental Europe.

Scientists say that human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes, with periods of extreme heat, droughts and floods becoming more intense and frequent.

The heatwave is the second of the year for tens of millions of people in Western Europe.

Britain, France, Switzerland, Germany and Spain have all raised alert levels for the coming days, as have some cities in northern and central Italy.

The UK's Met Office said there was a 40% chance of beating the record temperature for a June day, set in 1976.

Spain's civil protection agency warned of a prolonged spell of extreme heat affecting most of the country, including the Balearic Islands, from Sunday and through much of next week.

With climate change, "we're seeing more extremes of temperatures, we're breaking records more frequently", Alex Deakin from the UK Met Office said.

"When you get hot spells, they're that much hotter. And when you get rainy spells, they're that much rainier," he said.