Paris (France) (AFP) - Here are the latest developments in Europe’s heatwave.

Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

Belgium’s Atomium on reduced hours

One of Belgium’s best-known monuments, the space-age Atomium in Brussels which is made of steel, will close earlier to visitors from Wednesday to Friday, to avoid operating during the hottest part of the day, its management said.

Stallantis workers end shifts early

Workers at a site of automaker Stellantis near the French city of Mulhouse said they were ending their shifts early from Tuesday to Sunday in protest at working conditions during the boiling hot weather.

France records hottest day

France on Tuesday experienced its hottest day since measurements began in 1947, the national weather agency said.

The national temperature indicator – an average of daytime and nighttime temperatures across 30 stations – reached 29.8C, Meteo-France said, citing provisional data.

The previous record was 29.4C, recorded on July 25, 2019, and August 5, 2003.

Eiffel Tower, Louvre close early

In Paris the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, two of the most visited tourist attractions in the world, announced earlier closing times because of the heatwave.

The Eiffel Tower’s operator said it was closing on Tuesday at 4:00 pm – more than eight hours earlier than the regular closing time – and “very likely” for Wednesday as well.

The Louvre’s management said it was shortening its hours from Wednesday to Saturday, explaining that the heat made “working conditions difficult”.

Another usually crowded French landmark, the spectacular Mont Saint Michel island in Normandy, urged visitors to “put off your visit during the red alert”.

Warnings for Poland, Croatia, Hungary

Poland’s weather service issued high-level heat warnings for the western part of the country from Thursday to Saturday, forecasting temperatures could break the record of 40.2C set in 1921.

Croatia’s popular Adriatic coast was also put under red alert for Friday and Saturday.

Hungary, already under a second-level heat alert, said it was raising that to the maximum level from June 27 to June 30 as temperatures continued to rise.

France closes 1,800 schools

France’s government said that 1,800 schools were closed because of the heat on Tuesday, out of 8,000 schools that were affected. Many of the others shortened classroom hours to send pupils home early.

Red Cross alarm

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned the heat could quickly become a matter of life and death for the most vulnerable.

“The coming days pose serious health risks,” Mary Friel, the IFRC’s senior climate policy officer, told a press conference in Geneva. “For thousands of people across Europe, extreme temperatures, without action, can quickly become a matter of life and death.”

40 drowned in France, 2 in Belgium

Forty people – many of them youths – have drowned since June 18 as a severe heatwave grips France, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, calling it a “tragic scourge”.

Two 17-year-olds drowned Tuesday in an artificial lake in eastern Belgium, local judicial authorities said. They were part of a group of five youths who jumped into a disaffected quarry where swimming is banned.

Almost all Spain on warning

Nearly all of Spain was under a heat alert, with parts of the south and north of the country put on the highest warning level.

National weather agency AEMET issued red alerts – a warning for “extraordinary danger” – for areas around the southern city of Cordoba, the northern city of Bilbao and parts of the northern region of Cantabria.

Italy on red alert

Italy’s health ministry declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities including Milan and Rome on Tuesday and said the number would go up to 16 on Wednesday.

During a red alert – the highest level – the ministry advises people to eat light, stay indoors in the hottest parts of the day and sprinkle themselves with cool water.

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