Tens of millions are braving a weekend of extreme temperatures in Europe as a deadly heatwave moves eastwards, with some countries announcing rising death tolls and health services warning of saturation.

While some mild relief is expected on Sunday in western Europe, German forecasters are warning that more temperature records could still be broken over the weekend as eastern countries issue a slew of red alerts for the coming days.

AFP analysis suggested almost 200 million people faced temperatures of more than 35 degrees Celsius on Saturday as an unprecedented hot spell that has already seen records tumble in Britain, France, Switzerland drags on.

France is seeing "a higher than normal number of deaths" due to the heatwave baking the country, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Saturday.

"We're seeing indicators that mortality will very likely be higher than at the same time last year," Rist told La Tribune newspaper.

Spain had already said on Thursday that the heatwave could be linked to 212 deaths over a four-day period.

Paris' hospitals said that visits to emergency rooms were 36 percent higher than normal on both Friday and Saturday, while Vienna said its emergency services were 15 percent busier and that they had put on extra staff.

Street parties and music festivals were cancelled in France, Germany and the Netherlands, but a Pride March went ahead in Budapest despite the extreme heat warnings.

The German Weather Service issued a red alert for most of the country on Saturday, and said late afternoon that it had recorded its highest ever temperature with 41.5 degrees recorded in eastern Germany.

"It can't be ruled out that temperatures could approach 42 degrees," the service said, which would mean another all-time heat record just a day after the previous one.

Denmark's weather service said early afternoon on Saturday that the country had recorded its highest temperature ever, and then an hour later said the record had lasted just an hour, with the mercury hitting 37 degrees in two places near Aarhus.

The Czech Republic also recorded its highest-ever temperature, with a reading of 40.8 degrees just north of Prague, but the country's weather service said the heat would peak on Sunday with temperatures expected to get close or even exceed 41 degrees.

Switzerland broke the record for its hottest-ever June day for the third day in a row on Saturday, with the mercury rising to 39 degrees in the northern city of Basel.

Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming driven by humans burning fossil fuels, and are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense. (AFP)


Edited by Tony Sabine