International: France recorded it’s highest temperature in history
France recorded a temperature of 45.9°C in Gallargues-le-Montueux on Friday, the highest in its history.
France's weather service has issued a red alert for four areas amid a heatwave in all of Europe and officials have advised people to stay indoors. As many as 4,000 schools in France have been closed or introduced measures to protect children from the heat.
The previous 2003 record of 44.1C was beaten twice before on Friday: first when the southeastern town of Carpentras reached 44.3C, then hours later when Villevieille, in Provence, hit 45.1C.
The weather in June is usually slightly cooler in Europe, building up to highs later in the summer. However, there was also a June heatwave last year, with prolonged high temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere, accompanied by a drought in many areas.
In Germany, the national DWD weather service said overall June temperatures were more than four degrees higher than historical averages for the month and 0.4C higher than the 2003 June average, the warmest since records began in 1881.
