New temperature record set as France swelters through June heatwave

France has registered its highest temperature since records began as the death toll rose from a heatwave suffocating much of Europe.

As the mercury rises, Europeans are doing all they can to beat the heat.

The mercury hit 45.9 degrees Celsius in Villevieille, in the southerly Provence region, the weather forecaster Meteo France said, almost two degrees above the previous high of 44.1 Celsius recorded in August 2003.

The World Meteorological Organisation said that 2019 was on track to be among the world's hottest years, and that 2015-2019 would then be the hottest five-year period on record.

It said the European heatwave was "absolutely consistent" with extremes linked to the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.

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