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The Czech Republic recorded its highest-ever temperature on Saturday, with a reading of 40.8C at a weather station in Doksany north of Prague, the national meteorological service (CHMI) said.<\/p>\n
And forecasters in Denmark said a provisional temperature of 37C was recorded in Odum, near Aarhus. This exceeded the previous all-time record of 36.4C set in 1976.<\/p>\n
Switzerland broke the record for its hottest-ever June day for the third day in a row on Saturday, with the mercury rising to 39C in the northern city of Basel.<\/p>\n
“This exceptional heatwave has been caused by a slow-moving persistent area of high pressure, a so-called ‘heat dome'”, according to the BBC’s lead weather presenter Ben Rich.<\/p>\n
“Underneath the high pressure system sinking air compressed and warmed, lifting temperatures day by day.<\/p>\n
“The skies have remained largely cloud-free, allowing strong sunshine to heat things up even more”, he added.<\/p>\n
Since the heatwave began, the number of drowning deaths in France has risen to at least 55. An estimated two-thirds of them had been swimming in unsupervised areas.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, French health officials said that during the heatwave there had been about 1,000 additional deaths compared to records for the previous months. Officials said areas under a red alert for heat had been particularly affected. <\/p>\n
Spain’s MoMo monitoring system has recorded 327 deaths that could be linked to the heat between Sunday and Thursday.<\/p>\n
Europe is the World’s fastest-warming continent \u2013 because of a range of factors including the rapid heating of the Arctic, and changes in the pattern of the jet stream.<\/p>\n
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution say a heatwave of this magnitude so early in the summer would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
They say climate change is “unequivocally” to blame.<\/p>\n
The extreme heat will continue over the weekend into Monday with temperatures above 40C still possible in places, says BBC weather forecaster Ben Rich.<\/p>\n
However cooler conditions developing in the west of the continent will sweep eastwards to bring some relief later in the week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n