Health and fire warnings have been issued in countries in Southern Europe, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 ° C over some places over the weekend.
Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Portugal are among the affected countries – with the Spanish city of Seville the forecast to hit 42C on Sunday.
The hot air from North Africa, which spreads to the Balkans to festive destinations such as Croatia, contributes to rising temperatures.
BBC Weather says the thermal wave is “very intense” during this time of year – as the continent usually experiences such high temperatures in July and early August.
In Spain, the emergency staff is placed in a standby mode to cope with the jump in cases of heat stroke, especially among vulnerable people, including children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.
“It always gets super hot in Madrid.
“This year is exceptional. Last year you can at least get out at this hour, but now? There is no way. It's intense and people drink more water,” says the 47 -year -old Janet.
The Italian authorities advise residents in several cities, including Rome, Milan and Venice – where several celebrities from A -Listen gathered Amazon founder's wedding Jeff Bezos and television presenter Lauren Sanchez – To stay indoors between 11:00 and 18:00 local time.
“There is no wind, a lot of humidity, we sweat and suffocate at night,” Alejandra Echeveria, a 40-year-old Mexican tourist in Venice, told AFP.
Meanwhile, France has been experiencing a thermal wave for more than a week. The orange heat signals, the second highest warning in the country, were issued to the southern regions on Friday.
In the city of Marseille, municipal pools open free of charge until the end of the heat wave, while in some places there are calls to close for the protection of students' health.
The yellow and amber signals are also in place For parts of England this weekend and temperatures in London can reach 35C on Monday. It is envisaged that the heat wave will continue until Tuesday evening.
Wild fires have already struck some parts of Europe, including Greece, where coastal cities near the capital Athens burst into flames that destroy homes – forcing people to evacuateS
Although it is difficult to connect the individual extreme meteorological events to climate change, heat waves are becoming increasingly common and more intensity due to climate change.
Scientists at World Weather Attribution, who analyze the impact of climate change on extreme meteorological events, say that June heat waves with three consecutive days above 28C are about 10 times more prone to appear now than predumerical times.