Western Europe was in the grip of a heat wave on Wednesday that shattered records, caused the deaths of dozens of people, closed schools, knocked out electricity and wiped out poultry farms.

Three people died due to extreme heat in France and thousands of schools closed or modified timetables as European authorities issued heatwave warnings and forecasters in Britain…

Temperatures could hit 38-40C in parts of England and Wales, smashing June record set in 1976; red alerts in France after 19 heat deaths

Europe is warming at more than twice the global average