Three elderly people died as extreme temperatures hit France, and 13 swimmers ​were reported drowned as they tried to escape a heatwave that swept across Europe, where authorities issued warnings for the days ahead.

Thousands of schools ‌in France closed or modified timetables on Monday, and forecasters in Britain predicted temperatures could smash records for June this week.

“We’re heading for, at the very least, several days of very, very hot weather. We don’t know when temperatures will start falling,” French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on TV channel TF1.

“Swim only in places that are supervised,” French Civil Safety service spokesperson Jerome Boulanger said after reporting the drownings from Sunday into ​Monday. Such deaths spiked 58% in France last year as swimmers tried to cool off.

Three elderly people, aged between 80 and 95, died over the weekend in the ​Bordeaux region as a result of health issues caused by the current heatwave in France, local government official Sophie Brocas told France TV ⁠late on Sunday.

Weather agency Meteo France said 49 regional administrative areas would be under a red heatwave warning.

An April report by the World Meteorological Organisation found Europe is warming at ​more than double the global rate.

According to the Reuters Climate Monitor, Europe on Monday was the continent furthest from its historic norm, with temperatures forecast to reach an average of 24 degrees Celsius (75 ​degrees Fahrenheit), 4.1 C above what was typical from 1961-1990.

The heatwave affecting large parts of Europe is known as an Omega block because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air on either side, said Clair Barnes, a research associate in extreme weather and climate at Imperial College in London.

“It’s drawing warm air up from North Africa, from the Sahara, ​and that’s why we have this really intense heat. It’s very slow-moving, and it means there’s kind of no wind, no breeze for respite,” she said.

Heatwaves and storms are ​being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall, she said.

UK HEAT WILL BREAK JUNE RECORD SET IN 1976

The Met Office, Britain’s national weather forecaster, said on Monday that a four-day ‌heatwave there could ⁠push temperatures above 39 C in some places, easily breaking the June record of 35.6 C set in 1957 and 1976.

“Thirty six degrees is going to be disgusting,” said data scientist Lewis Jennings, out walking in central London.

In Spain, state weather agency Aemet issued a red alert for the Basque region, in the normally cooler north of the country, with the mercury in San Sebastian set to rise to a high of 40 C, more than double the city’s historic average for June 22, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.

“We are seeing temperatures ​between 5 and 10 degrees above normal for ​this time of year, and in some ⁠northern areas even more than 10 degrees above average,” Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for Aemet, said.

RED HEATWAVE ALERTS ACROSS ITALY

Italy on Monday issued heatwave red alerts for 12 cities, including Milan, Turin, Venice, Bologna, Florence and Rome.

The Red Cross in Milan said it was inviting elderly ​people and those with health conditions to visit their cooling centre, where solar panels power air conditioning.

Local utility Iren was doubling workers’ ​shifts and adding generators ⁠to address sporadic power cuts in Turin as the electricity grid came under strain, a spokesperson said.

Birds such as swifts, swallows, sparrows and starlings, which make their nests in the eaves of roofs, have been particularly affected by abnormally high temperatures, said Romaine de Jaegere, a biologist and founder of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Animals Living in the Wild refuge in Temploux in Belgium.

“Temperatures ⁠on the ​roofs can sometimes reach 50, even 60 degrees Celsius. So they prefer to jump rather than let themselves die ​and literally cook in their nests,” De Jaegere said, adding that the shelter had received 150 animals in the last three days.