Italy limits outdoor work as temperatures break records across Europe

Outdoor working has been banned during the hottest parts of the day in more than half of Italy's regions as an extreme heatwave that has smashed June temperature records in Spain and Portugal continues to grip large parts of Europe.

- Angela Giuffrida Rome Angelique Chrisafis Paris Sam Jones Seville

The extreme temperatures are believed to have claimed at least three lives, including a small boy who is thought to have died from heatstroke while in a car in Spain's Tarragona province yesterday afternoon.

In Italy, a 53-year-old woman died in Sicily on Monday after fainting while walking along a street in Palermo. She reportedly suffered from a heart condition. A 70-year-old man was reported to have drowned at a tourist resort close to Turin as intense heat gave way to storms and flash floods.

Admissions to A&E units in parts of Italy have risen by 15% to 20% in recent days. The majority of patients have been elderly people suffering from dehydration.

The heatwave, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from their homes in Turkey due to wildfires, has also forced the closure of schools in parts of France as teaching unions warned classrooms were dangerously hot for children and teachers.

Tourists, meanwhile, were confronted with closures of some of Europe's popular sights. The top of the Eiffel Tower was shut as temperatures in Paris were poised to hit 38C (100.4F). In Brussels, the Atomium monument, famed for its giant stainless steel balls, closed early as temperatures inched towards 37C.