People in western Europe turned to fans and fountains as they sweltered through a record-breaking heatwave Tuesday, with temperatures set to soar even further.

Temperatures hit record highs for May in the United Kingdom and France on Monday, as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe throughout the week.

The UK and France have registered record May temperatures as western Europe swelters under a "heat dome." Such extremes are occurring more often as the planet warms.

Western Europe reeled under an unseasonal heatwave on Tuesday as record-breaking temperatures swept across the continent.

Record temps as spring heatwave bakes Europe