More than a thousand schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the region.

Barcelona recorded its hottest month of June since records started over a century ago, Spain’s national weather service said on Tuesday as Europe remained in the grip of the first major heat wave this summer.

A marine heat wave in the Mediterranean is combining with a powerful heat dome to cause Europe to swelter under a brutal early summer heat wave.