Sweltering temperatures hit much of Western Europe on Tuesday as a ferocious heatwave headed north.
The UK hit its highest ever temperature of 40.2C, according to provisional Met Office figures, and forecasters warned temperatures were still climbing.
Extreme heat warnings were issued in France and record July temperatures were reported in the Netherlands.
Deadly wildfires in France, Portugal, Spain and Greece have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
Two people were killed by forest fires in Spain’s north-western Zamora region and trains in the area were halted because of fire near the tracks. An elderly couple died while trying to escape fires in northern Portugal.
Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change.
German Environment Minister, Steffi Lemke, said the climate crisis meant the country had to rethink its preparations for very hot weather, drought and flooding.
Wildfires were still burning a day after several French cities, including Nantes in the west, saw their hottest-ever day.
More than 30,000 people have had to flee, with several camp sites destroyed and emergency shelters set up for evacuees.
Gironde, a popular tourist region in the south-west, has been hit particularly badly, with firefighters from across France battling to control two blazes that have destroyed 19,300 hectares (47,700 acres) of land in the past week. The city of Bordeaux was blanketed with smoke early on Tuesday as the wind changed direction.
“It’s a monster like an octopus, and it’s growing and growing and growing in the front, in the back, on both sides,” said Jean-Luc Gleyze, Gironde’s regional president.
The hottest temperatures have now moved to the north and east. Hundreds of people have had to leave their homes in the far north-west of Brittany, and fire has destroyed 1,400 hectares of vegetation.
A dozen animals at the zoo in La Teste-de-Buch died of stress and from the high temperatures, the government said. In a complex operation involving vets, zookeepers and others, 363 animals that could be moved were driven in convoys to Bordeaux-Pessac zoo, 65km (40 miles) away.
The UK’s Met Office said 40.2C°C was provisionally recorded at Heathrow Airport west of London on Tuesday, and forecasters warned temperatures were still climbing in many places. -BBC
