Some areas will continue to get hotter until the middle of the week, with temperatures rising across France, Germany, Italy and the UK over the next few days.
Yellow and amber alerts are in place for parts of England this weekend, and temperatures in London may reach 35C on Monday.
The heat has been building under a big area of high pressure, with dry air descending and warming.
As that process has continued over a number of days, temperatures have climbed. The area of high pressure will move eastwards over the next few days – taking the high temperatures northwards and eastwards with it.
Heatwaves are becoming more common due to human-caused climate change, according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Extreme hot weather will happen more often – and become even more intense – as the planet continues to warm, it has said.
Additional reporting by BBC Weather, Guy DeLauney and Guy Hedgecoe
