Here are the latest developments in Europe's heatwave.
Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.
UN blames fossil fuel pollution
The heatwave is "the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet", said UN climate chief Simon Stiell.
"Until humanity stops burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, extreme heat will keep getting worse," Stiell said in a statement.
France to begin easing alerts
France will begin lifting its red alerts from Thursday evening, forecaster Meteo France said.
"On Friday, a gradual drop in temperatures along the Atlantic coast is beginning to take shape following Thursday evening's stormy conditions,” the agency added.
Paris mayor warns of rising deaths
Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said there had been an "increase in mortality" in the capital owing to the heatwave, without giving any figures.
He said "pretty much all our indicators are in a critical state", including calls to emergency medical services, calls to the fire brigade, ER admissions, and deaths, he told local TV.
Three 'likely' heatwave deaths in France
Three deaths in northern France's Pas-de-Calais region were "likely" caused by the heatwave, the local authorities said.
They include an elderly man who was working outside and two people who died indoors and had "other medical conditions", it said.
Brussels protest
Around 20 activists entered a pool in a Brussels park on Wednesday to protest the absence of designated outdoor swimming areas in the Belgian capital, calling it an aberration in the midst of a heatwave.
Hottest day in UK
The UK recorded its hottest ever June temperature on Wednesday with the mercury rising to 36.1C in southern England, breaking the previous record of 35.6C set in 1976.
It is the second month in a row that Britain has broken historical temperature records, as scientists warn that climate change is making extreme weather events like heatwaves more frequent and intense.
More heatwaves inevitable: IPCC chair
The heatwave scorching Europe has become worse than some scientific projections feared, the head of the UN's climate experts panel said Wednesday, warning that the continent will doubtless face more extremes as the planet warms.
"Inevitably, we're going to experience more of what we've been seeing over the last few days," the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's chairman Jim Skea told journalists.
Heatwave risking health: WHO
"Europe's heatwave is closing schools and putting people's health at risk," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization.
"We cannot afford further delay. Leaders must prioritise investment in climate-resilient health systems, while also accelerating climate action and mitigating the drivers of the climate crisis."
