European Heat Wave Deaths Surge

A record-breaking heat wave continued to batter Europe on Saturday, with France's health agency reporting a 29% increase in excess deaths during the peak period.

Hospitals across the continent struggled with overheating facilities, and schools were forced to close as temperatures soared.

In Italy, the country's most important rice-growing region in Pavia saw crops devastated by drought, while wildfires broke out on the Greek island of Rhodes and in northeastern Spain.

In the United Kingdom, authorities issued a new hosepipe ban for parts of England and the Met Office warned of temperatures reaching 34°C, as the continent grappled with what is being called the worst European heatwave on record.