France recorded its all-time hottest temperature of 44.3 degrees Celsius (111.7 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday as the country and much of Europe basked in an early summer heatwave, state weather forecaster Meteo-France said.

The temperature was recorded in the southeastern town of Carpentras and beat the previous record for France of 44.1 degrees Celsius recorded in Saint-Christol-les-Ales and Conqueyrac during the notorious August 2003 heatwave, Meteo-France told AFP.

Meteo-France forecaster Etienne Kapikian said it was “very probable” that the record would be beaten again Friday as it was still relatively early in the day.

“(The temperature) will continue to climb and, in some places, we could pass 44 degrees Celsius,” he said.

The heatwave is also being felt in Spain, killing several persons, including a 17-year-old farm worker.

The Spanish teenager felt dizzy while helping harvest wheat in the southern Andalusia region.

After a dip in a swimming pool to cool off, he collapsed with convulsions and was rushed to hospital in the town of Cordoba where he later died, the regional government said.

Elsewhere in Spain, a 93-year-old man collapsed and died on the street in the northern city of Valladolid, police said, who gave heatstroke as the cause of death.

Heat-related deaths have also been reported in Italy, France, and Germany, mainly among the elderly.

NAN