Extreme heat has gripped Europe with record-high temperatures, health alerts and wildfires, from France and Spain to Greece.

Southern Europeans braced Saturday for their first heatwave of the northern hemisphere summer, as climate change pushes thermometers on the world's fastest-warming continent increasingly into the red.

H ealth and fire warnings have been issued in countries across southern Europe, with temperatures expected to exceed 40C in some places over the weekend. Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Portugal are among the countries affected - with the Spanish city of Seville forecast to hit 42C.