Europe is facing a major weather crisis, with parts of France expected to reach up to 45C today, as the continent swelters under a massive heatdome.  

The ⁠spike in temperatures is being driven by a mass of hot air moving north from the Sahara, fuelled by a strong high‑pressure ​system known as the 'African anticyclone.'

Meteorologists say the system is creating a so‑called 'heat dome,' trapping hot air over western and central Europe and ​allowing temperatures to build day after day.

Harsh temperatures are expected to linger until at least Thursday, with conditions possibly intensifying as the week continues. The European heatdome comes after a May that saw several countries report record temperatures for that time of year.

France is being hit with the worst of the weather, with much of the western and central regions of the nation expecting to blast past 40C today. 

Weather bosses have put 49 of the 96 mainland departments on a red alert weather warning, up from 35 over the weekend. 

Forecasters warned that scorching weather could end up being as serious as a 2003 heatwave that claimed the lives of nearly 15,000 people nationwide. France's junior minister for ecology Mathieu Lefevre said this heatwave was 'particularly intense and particularly early'.

At yesterday's Fête de la Musique, which sees large crowds celebrate on the streets of most of France's cities, authorities banned the consumption of alcohol for fear of the risks drinking in high heat poses. 

Some Parisians were in favour of the ban. 'I think it's a good thing,' said Hailey Infante, 21, adding: 'Honestly, it's really hot, and even a drop of alcohol can quickly go to your head.' 

Others, like Nicolas Pilc, were more sceptical. He said the measure would have 'absolutely no effect. Everyone will do whatever they want.'

The Louvre also cancelled a free concert under its world-famous glass pyramid.  

French citizens tried cooling down by visiting their local rivers and pools. But 13 tragically drowned over the weekend, authorities said. 

The government's emergency response cell warned people not to try to cool off in unsupervised areas such as lakes and rivers, after the drowning deaths at the weekend, which included a 13-year-old girl, according to the civil defence authorities. 

Officials announced the closure of 845 schools on Monday, with another 1,800 set to let students leave earlier than normal.  

'Last week, it was 32C in the classroom for the children. It's only going to get worse, while the supermarket across the street is cool and air-conditioned,' one primary school teacher in the Bordeaux region told AFP.

'Everyone thinks it's normal but one day we're going to end up teaching in the aisles of the supermarket,' she added, asking to remain anonymous to speak freely.

Transport over the weekend and into today was affected in France. Jean Castex, the chief of state-owned rail operator SNCF, said high temperatures increased the risk to overhead powerlines and could even expand the tracks trains rely on. 

As a result, SNCF cancelled 71 intercity trains Sunday through Monday on key routes, while deploying 3,500 staff to monitor the network. On top of this, 2,000 were sent to make emergency repairs.  

Europe has suffered greatly from heat over the last few years. The World Health Organisation's Europe office said this month that over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across the continent died from heat-related causes. 

The UN has warned that the weather over the next five years will likely see more shattered heat records. 

Akshay Deoras, a senior researcher at the University of Reading's National Centre for Atmospheric Science, in England, said it was clear what was behind the rash of heat records.

'Human-driven climate change has provided the springboard for this event, loading the atmosphere with extra heat and making extreme temperatures far more intense than they would have been in the past,' he said.

A study found that human-caused climate change led to the deaths of 1,500 people across Europe during an unusual May heatwave. 

Over in Spain, where parts of the centre and northeast are set to blast past 40C today, authorities issued a swathe of orange and red weather warnings across large parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Mallorca. 

Spanish weather bosses said the country's heatwave would last until at least the middle of the week. 

Over the weekend, Madrid authorities cancelled a public screening of Spain's World Cup match against Saudi Arabia on Sunday amid health fears. 

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said the screening at Plaza de Colon, where supporters could watch Spain's World Cup ​matches on large screens, has been called off. 

It said in a statement on Saturday: 'For reasons of safety and protection of public health, it has been decided to cancel all the activities planned in the Colon Fan Zone, including ​the broadcast ​of the ⁠match. 

'Fans are advised to watch ​the match from equipped, air-conditioned areas, ​avoid prolonged ⁠exposure to the heat, and follow all instructions from emergency and civil protection services.'

In Barcelona, people were seen diving into outdoor pools to cool off over the weekend. 

And over in Seville, the mercury hit 40C on Sunday afternoon, while the previous day saw temperatures in Mallorca hit a staggering 42C. 

In Germany, where temperatures ​have already reached as high as ​38C, the DWD weather service ⁠warned of severe thunderstorms in eastern regions including Berlin, where heavy rain disrupted the open‑air Fête de la Musique festival.

Organisers had to evacuate the grounds of the Berlin Open as heavy rain and strong ​winds set in, and as fans awaited the tennis tournament's singles final between Jessica Pegula of ​the US and ⁠Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic.

In Rome, pilgrims in St Peter's Square used parasols and umbrellas to shield themselves from the ​blazing sun as the Pope led a traditional Sunday prayer from a window of the Apostolic Palace. 

In the city's Piazza Venezia, people were seen cooling off in water fountains. 

Temperatures in Belgium are expected to be 'the hottest ever recorded' there in the coming week, warned David Dehenauw, head of forecasting at the IRM meteorological institute.  

Belgium's national rail company SNCB announced that some rush hour trains had been cancelled for Monday and Tuesday to reduce the risk of breakdowns blocking the tracks amid the heatdome. 

And here in the UK, Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, predicted that existing UK heat records for June would be 'annihilated' - as had already happened in May.

'The coming week will bring an unprecedented heatwave with temperatures likely to reach 38-39 degrees Celsius,' she predicted. 'The current June record is 35.6 degrees Celsius.

'This will lead to two consecutive months, May and June, in which the UK temperature records have been annihilated by well over 2C,' she added.