Red and orange heat warning for almost all of France. Germany could reach 38 degrees. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks people to be careful.

“This has never happened before,” says Agnes Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Ecological Transition in France.

The country's weather service issued a red heatwave warning for 16 departments , including Paris, on Tuesday.

In addition, an orange danger warning has been issued for other parts of the country. Only the northern areas of Brittany and Normandy are exempt from the warning.

Several places in the country will see temperatures well above 40 degrees on Monday, and the heat is expected to persist in large parts of the country through Tuesday.

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Everyone is at risk, even those in good health, says the warning from French meteorologists. They emphasize that the risk is greatest for the elderly, people with chronic illnesses and mental health problems.

Nearly 200 schools are fully or partially closed due to the heat.

Authorities are asking people to stay indoors during the hottest times of the day, close windows and doors, and ventilate well at night when temperatures drop. They advise people to wet their bodies with a cloth or take a hot shower, dress in light clothing, and make sure to stay in a cool place for two to three hours a day.

New heat records

Both Spain and Portugal broke their June heat records this weekend, with temperatures reaching 46 and 46.6 degrees Celsius respectively. All of Portugal is under a red heat warning, while Spanish meteorologists have issued orange warnings for large parts of the country.

It is also scorching hot in Italy and Croatia. The latter has issued a red warning for the entire country.

Rome, Milan, Venice and 18 other Italian cities are on high alert due to the heat. The head of the Italian emergency medicine association told AFP that hospitals are reporting a 10 percent increase in heatstroke cases.

Britain is anxiously awaiting whether the June heat record of 34 degrees will be broken on Monday. The opening of the Wimbledon tournament will be the hottest ever.

Later in the week, the heat will spread north and east, and Germany, the Netherlands and Poland have issued orange heat warnings from Tuesday, according to the European warning service MeteoAlarm.

– It is a very large area that has very high temperatures, says state meteorologist Sigrid Auganæs to Aftenposten.

She says the heat comes from Africa and the Middle East, and chases away the low pressure.

– The wave crest is over the western parts of Europe right now, extending up towards the UK. London could get 35 degrees, and Paris could get 40. Then it looks like it's expanding eastwards, and we could get 35 degrees in the north of Germany, she says.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs updates travel information

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is now in the process of updating travel information for various countries around the Mediterranean with warnings about high temperatures.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that this is happening continuously and in dialogue with the foreign missions in the countries in question.

Travelers should be extra careful during the summer months due to high temperatures, is the wording that has now been adopted for, for example, Spain and Italy.

– The historical record is no longer true

Climate scientist Hans Olav Hygen at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute says that severe heat over large areas like the one we are seeing now is not very common historically.

– But the historical record is no longer true, he says.

“In recent years, we have seen that the countries around the Mediterranean, and especially Spain, have been hit hard by heat waves for several years in a row. It has gone from not so common to a foretaste of the future,” he says.

With a warmer climate, heat waves will become more frequent and stronger.

“The Mediterranean is being hit hard and is on the verge of becoming uncomfortably or dangerously hot with increasing frequency. This will make life more difficult for both residents and tourists,” says Hygen.

He says the boundaries of what is defined as a heat wave may be adjusted as people get used to more frequent and more intense periods of heat.

“But when temperatures get above the mid-30s, we pass the temperature of the human body. We need to get rid of heat all the time, so both people, animals and nature stop when you get to such high temperatures,” he says.