Health and fire warnings have been issued in southern European countries, with temperatures expected to exceed 40c in some locations over the weekend.
Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Portugal are one of the countries affected – forecasts for the Spanish city of Seville reach 42C on Sunday.
Hot air from North Africa, spreading across the Balkans to holiday destinations such as Croatia, is contributing to high temperatures.
The BBC weather says that the heat waves are “very intense” during this time of year – the continent usually experiences such high temperatures from July to early August.
In Spain, emergency staff are on standby to deal with the surge in cases of heat stroke, especially among vulnerable people, including children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.
“It’s always very hot in Madrid. What’s surprising is how quickly it happens – we’re still in June,” the 22-year-old Marina told the Spanish capital, Reuters news agency.
“This year is extreme. Last year, at least you can go out at this time, but now? It’s intense and people are drinking more water,” said Janeth, 47.
Italian authorities have advised residents of several cities, including Rome, Milan and Venice – several A-list celebrities have gathered for the wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and television presenter Lauren Sanchez.
“There’s no wind or humidity. We’re sweating. We’re choking at night,” Alejandra Echerlia, a 40-year-old Mexican tourist in Venice, told AFP.
Meanwhile, France has been experiencing a heat wave for over a week. The Orange Heat Alert, the country’s second highest warning, was issued to the Southern Region on Friday.
In Marseille, local government swimming pools are open free until the end of the heat wave, but there were calls to help the school approach the school to protect the health of its students.
Yellow and amber alerts have also been in place in parts of the UK this weekend, with temperatures in London likely to reach 35C on Monday. The heat wave is expected to continue until Tuesday evening.
Wildfires have already struck parts of Europe, including Greece. Greece erupted in flames that destroyed homes by a coastal town near the capital Athens, causing people to evacuate.
While it is difficult to link individual extreme weather events to climate change, climate is becoming more common and intense due to climate change.
Scientists at the World Weather Attributes analysing the impact of climate change on extreme weather events say that the three-day June heat wave, more than 28c, is about 10 times more likely to occur today than before the Industrial Revolution.
