European holiday hotspots to swelter in 40C heat

Popular European destinations are facing extreme temperatures, with the hot weather expected to soar well into the forties in major holiday hotspots.

- RACHEL CLUN and ALEX CROFT

Warnings are in place for cities including Paris and Rome over the weekend and into next week, while wildfires have erupted in Greece.

Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon warned that southern and western Europe was experiencing a heatwave which was also extending into southeastern parts of the continent.

"Temperatures are expected to be 5-10C above normal fairly widely in Europe, with the potential for a few locations to reach around 40C in the southeast, and possibly even higher across parts of Iberia ... likely challenging some June records," he said.

"This excessive heat will extend north across other parts of western Europe early next week, and plays a role in the heatwave parts of the UK is expecting, though not with temperatures as high as those previously states," he added.

AccuWeather lead international forecaster, Jason Nicholls, said similar to the "burst of heat" earlier this month, a strong area of high pressure is going to build over western Europe from Morocco, bringing high temperatures.

That system will extend "upward through Spain, Portugal, into France, and eventually spreading out towards Germany and Italy as we get into the weekend", he said.

Mr Nicholls added: "Worst case scenario, people could be suffering from heat stroke or heat exhaustion, especially if they're outside during the prime heating part of the day, like midday/afternoon hours."

Spanish and Portuguese temperatures to exceed 40C