Europe heatwave live: UK braces for record-breaking temperatures; Italy issues red alert for 16 cities

Temperatures expected to hit 40C in parts of the UK, as extreme heatwave spreads slowly eastwards, sparking warnings in Italy and the Netherlands

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Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said the agency is forecasting 39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday in the UK, most likely for somewhere in London or the south-east.

It is possible we could see temperatures higher than the 39C if the final values are at the upper end of our narrow range," he said, according to the Press Association.