Another record-smashing heat wave has overspread much of Europe, threatening all-time high temperatures in cities such as Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

"The most extreme heat will build from central and northern France into Belgium, Netherlands and far western Germany from Wednesday into Thursday," according to AccuWeather meteorologist Eric Leister.

Paris' all-time record high of 104.7 degrees could be broken Thursday, according to Meteo France, the country's weather service. That record was set on July 28, 1947, the Weather Channel said.

Unprecedented 104-degree highs are also possible in parts of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which would smash all-time records, according to Weather Company meteorologist Hannah Findley.

The heat will also bake the United Kingdom, where high temperatures will soar into the 90s to near 100 degrees by Thursday. "There is a real possibility of records being broken this week, not only for July but also all-time records," said the Met Office's chief meteorologist, Frank Saunders.

In the U.K., the nation's record high in July is 98 degrees while the all-time record high is 101.3 degrees.

"As well as high temperatures during the day, overnight temperatures will also be notably warm and could also break records," Saunders said.

The heat wave will also extend into other parts of Europe, including Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, among other countries, according to the Capital Weather Gang.

This latest heat wave is being triggered by an omega block, a type of upper-level high-pressure pattern resembling the Greek letter Ω that blocks and diverts the jet stream, the Weather Channel said. This will allow hot air to surge northward from northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.

This is Europe's second major heat wave of the summer: Just four weeks ago, eight countries set June national heat records during another long-lived heat wave.

Heat waves like the two this summer are extreme weather events, but research shows that with climate change they are likely to become more common, perhaps occurring as regularly as every other year, the U.K. Met Office said.