PARIS >> Barcelona recorded its hottest June in over a century, the summit of Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors and hundreds of French schools shut Tuesday as Europe sizzled in its first major heat wave of the summer.

Health warnings remained in effect in several European countries. The worst was felt in southern Europe while punishing temperatures were forecast to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Paris and to stay unusually high in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The abnormally hot weather “is exposing millions of Europeans to high heat stress” with temperatures in June more typical of July and August, said Samantha Burgess of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. This June is likely to be among the five hottest on record, it said.

Barcelona’s Fabra Observatory reported an average temperature for last month of 78 F, breaking records since books were started in 1914. The same weather station said that a single-day high of 100 degrees Fahrenheit for June was recorded Monday.

Mediterranean soup

Barcelona is usually spared the worst heat in Spain, thanks to its location between hills and the Mediterranean in Spain’s northeastern corner. But most of the country has been gripped by the extreme heat.

“We are seeing these temperatures because we are experiencing a very intense heat wave that has come early in the summer and that is clearly linked to global warming,” Ramón Pascual, a delegate for Spain’s weather service in Barcelona, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Pascual added that the inhabitants of the Mediterranean region are not being helped by the rising sea temperatures, which greatly reduces any cooling effects of a nearby body of water. Spain’s weather service said that recent surface temperatures for the Mediterranean near the Balearic Islands are between 5-6 degrees Celsius higher than average.

“With water surface temperatures from 26-30 Celsius (78-86 F), it is difficult for our nights to be refreshing,” he said.

Spain’s national average for June of 74 degrees Fahrenheit was 0.8 C hotter than the previous hottest June in 2017. It was also the first time that June was hotter than the average temperatures for both July and August.

Spain also saw a new high mark for June established Saturday when 114 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in the southern province of Huelva.

The streets were scorching as well in Spain’s capital, with Madrid forecast to reach 102 degrees Fahrenheit, as people tried to keep cool by drinking refrigerated drinks and sticking to the shade.

France suffocates

In France, the national weather agency Météo-France placed several departments under the highest red alert, with the Paris region particularly hard hit. More than 1,300 schools in the country were partially or fully closed.

Visitors to the Eiffel Tower without tickets were told to postpone their visits as the summit of the city’s landmark was closed until Thursday. The operators said the closure was “to ensure everyone’s comfort and safety.”

Climate experts warn that future summers are likely to be hotter than any recorded to date. By 2100, France could be up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer, with temperatures exceeding 104F expected every year and extreme heat spikes potentially reaching 122F.

Man dies in Italy

Farther south, 17 of Italy’s 27 major cities were experiencing a heat wave, according to the health ministry.

There were torrential rains in Italy’s north Monday and parts of Bardonecchia near Turin were covered in sludge after the Frejus river burst its banks.

Near Bologna, one of the cities under a heat alert Tuesday, the 46-year-old owner of a construction company collapsed and died while repaving a school parking lot, state-run RAI reported. An autopsy was being conducted to determine the cause, but heat was suspected.

Netherlands sweating

In the Dutch town of Soest, first responders said they were bringing a firehose to an early evening water gun fight. “Bring your water pistol and swimming clothes with you, because you’re guaranteed to get soaked!” the firefighters said in an Instagram post.