BBC Weather says a large area of high pressure is currently forming from the Azores towards Portugal and Spain and by the weekend the heat is expected to rise over France and southern Britain.
And as Europe braces for sweltering conditions, millions of Americans celebrating the July 4 holiday weekend are already being affected by prolonged extreme heat and high humidity in parts of the central and eastern United States.
Climate change is causing temperatures to rise around the world, but particularly in Europe. It is the fastest warming continent, warming twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.
This is causing increased summer heatwaves, increased pressure on Europe’s water supplies and more intense wildfires.
This summer’s record temperatures have already proven particularly deadly.
Belgium recorded 1,222 additional deaths during the heatwave – 39% more than usual – almost half of which were people aged 85 and over.
The country’s health ministry said the number of deaths during a heatwave was “unprecedented”.
In France, the number of deaths recorded between June 22 and 28 increased by 2,025, or almost 30%, the Public Health France agency announced on Friday. Deaths increased by 62% in the Paris region alone.
The French health ministry said this figure was probably “underestimated” and that mortality would “therefore be higher than these initial figures”.
Drowning deaths soared during the heatwave, with French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez saying on Saturday that 72 people had died by drowning since June 18.
Meanwhile, unprecedented heat in the Netherlands last week led to around 480 additional deaths, Dutch authorities said Thursday, most of whom were aged 80 and over.
Temperatures reached almost 40C in parts of the country, with most deaths reported in the south and east of the Netherlands, where temperatures were highest.
While the Netherlands is expecting a cooler week, warm weather is forecast again elsewhere for the weekend.
Temperatures are expected to reach 40°C in the south of France, with peaks of 36°C to 37°C expected around Bordeaux, Toulouse and Agen.
Météo-France issued red alerts for Friday and Saturday for forest fires in the south of the country, warning that weather conditions made the risk of an epidemic “very high” compared to summer normals.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said nearly 7,000 fires had broken out since the start of the summer season, with around 8,700 hectares burned so far.
Nearly 3,000 people were evacuated after a forest fire broke out on Thursday in the town of Sainte-Marie-la-Mer and spread to Canet-en-Roussillon.
