Europe is facing new record-breaking heatwave this week

Many parts of Europe are expecting to see another heatwave this week, with a number of new temperature records being forecast, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for WMO, told a press briefing here on Tuesday that large parts of Europe would experience temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius, including countries such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

On Monday night, France had reported new minimum overnight temperatures, and much of France and Switzerland are currently under an "amber alert", she said.

According to WMO, people in France are now worrying that the heatwave may aggravate the existing droughts, since there have been no rain since the end of the last heatwave. In Spain, the weather service also predicted temperatures over 40 degrees this week and there were concerns about wild fires.

Responding to a question on whether the current month of July would set any heat records, Nullis said there were reports we might be heading towards the hottest month on record ever, but that could not yet be confirmed at this stage.

On how long the current heatwave would last, she responded that it would last differently in different countries, with the peak being on Wednesday and Thursday, at least in Germany, Switzerland and the Benelux countries.

By Friday, she said, the heatwave should be broken, and the temperatures should descend over the weekend.