According to the French National Weather Institute Météo France, the heat record in Paris was beaten during Thursday afternoon, writes the AP news agency.

According to AFP, the temperature should be as much as 42.6 degrees in the Montsouris area, reports BFMTV and references to Météo France. The last record is from 1947 when 40.4 degrees were measured. But there is still some distance to the 46 degrees which is the country's hottest temperature ever and which was registered during last month's heat wave.

Records in Belgium and the Netherlands

It is not only in France that records have been broken.

In Belgium, 40.2 degrees were measured near Liège in the eastern part of the country during Wednesday, the AP writes.

However, the country's national weather institute flagged for the new heat record to be reset on Thursday - which it also did when 40.6 degrees was measured at 3.30 pm in Kleine-Brogel.

In the neighboring Netherlands, the new national record was set at 40.4 degrees in the southern municipality of Gilze en Rijen on Thursday.

Christmas record in the UK

Also in Germany, a weather record was broken during Thursday. In the city of Lingen, 41.5 degrees have been measured, which is the warmest in the country ever.

AP writes that meteorologists warned that records can be broken even in London. In the British capital, the dash on the thermometer is expected to climb to 39 degrees on Thursday.

Already at 15, the Christmas record in the United Kingdom was broken, when 36.9 degrees was measured at Heathrow Airport.

Warnings issued in several countries

In connection with the high temperatures, several authorities have issued warnings in large parts of Europe. The high temperatures pose problems for, among other things, healthcare in several countries. For example, in the UK, many facilities lack air conditioning.

In London and Paris, both authorities and aid workers have distributed water and sun protection to homeless people and in France and Belgium trains have been canceled due to the heat.

Authorities in the Netherlands have warned that air quality in some regions, including tourist-tight Amsterdam, can cause cough and irritation. This when weak winds do not blow away pollutants which are converted to ozone in the sunlight.