Europe heatwave live: UK issues rare red heat warning as record-breaking temperatures in France bring power outages

About 68,000 households lose electricity in northern France as Italy issues red alerts for 16 cities

France records hottest day ever as 40 people drown across country

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Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said the agency is forecasting 39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday in the UK, most likely for somewhere in London or the south-east.

“It is possible we could see temperatures higher than the 39C if the final values are at the upper end of our narrow range,” he said, according to the Press Association.