Two cyclists have died in southern France as temperatures exceeded 40C, bringing the number of heat-related deaths in Europe’s historic heatwave to seven.

It came after France recorded its all-time highest temperature of 45.9C in Villevieille on Friday. The heat was comparable to August temperatures in California’s Death Valley, according to the country's national weather service.

A 53-year-old man died while competing in a cycling race in the southwestern Ariege region, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, on Saturday.

The race was called off after several participants were taken sick due to the heat, organisers said.

Another cyclist died in the southern region of Vaucluse over the weekend, with authorities attributing the man's collapse to the heatwave.

Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures A firefighter tackles a forest fire by the River Ebre in northern Spain on 27 June AFP/Getty Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures A forest fire rages near Tarragona, Spain on 27 June Reuters Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures Helicopters fight to extinguish a forest fire in Catalonia, Spain on 27 June EPA Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures Fire and smoke rise from a forest fire by a house in Tarragona, Spain on 27 June EPA Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures Helicopters drop water on a forest fire in Catalonia, Spain on 27 June Reuters Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures Smoke bellows from a forest fire in Tarragona, Spain on 27 June EPA Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures The landscape is scorched after a forest fire in Tarragona, Spain on 27 June AP Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures The landscape is scorched after a forest fire in Tarragona, Spain on 27 June AP Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures Helicopters fight to extinguish a forest fire in Catalonia, Spain on 27 June EPA Wildfires sweep Spain in historic Europe heatwave: In pictures A firefighter works to extinguish a forest fire near Flix in Catalonia on 27 June AFP/Getty

Two people in Spain and three people in Italy also suffered heat-related deaths over the weekend.

It came as Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic recorded their highest ever temperatures for June, with meteorologists attributing the heat to a plume of hot air from the Sahara engulfing the continent.

In France, older cars were banned from the roads in four major cities to combat air pollution exacerbated by the heat, and some 4,000 schools were closed.

Earlier in the week, four people died in drowning accidents attributed to thermal shock, the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health said in a statement.

Meanwhile, wildfires raged across Spain as 40 of the country’s 50 regions were put under weather alert.

In Catalonia’s Tarragona province, a wildfire was triggered on Wednesday after a heap of manure self-combusted as the temperature soared to 44C.

The wildfire, which was the most serious the region had seen in 20 years and destroyed at least 10,000 hectares of forest, was finally brought under control by Sunday.

But firefighters are still battling to control a fire that has already destroyed over 2,000 hectares of forest in the provinces of Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.

Temperatures eased slightly on Sunday, but Spain’s national weather agency predicted the mercury could remain over 40C in some parts of the country.

Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Show all 30 1 /30 Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A zookeeper sprays water on Asian elephants at the Berlin Zoo on 25 June EPA Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures People cool off in a swimming pool in Hannover, Germany on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A woman sits on a lawn chair in Lake Wanasee in Berlin on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures An orangutan takes shelter from the sun under a blanket at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienaa on 25 June AP Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Visitors shelter from the heat under the Umbrella Sky Project, an art installation in Aix-en-Provence, France on 28 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A model boat drives past a couple as they bathe in a lake in Ertingen, Germany on 26 June AP Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A personal care worker visits the home of an elderly person to help him avoid heatstroke and dehydration during the heatwave in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The heat watch system has been implemented in France, meaning that vulnerable people will have increased access to aid for heat-related ailments AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A zookeeper applies sun cream to a tapir at the Serengeti Park in Hanover, Germany on 26 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures One motorist in Brandenburg, Germany was stopped by police on account of his tactic for keeping cool on 25 June Brandenburg Police Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A German Police helicopter pours water over a forest fire near Lieberoser Heide in Germany on 25 June Reuters Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Children jump into the water of Lake Geneva to cool off in Lutry, Switzerland on 25 June AP Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Parisians cool off in the fountains at the Trocadero Esplanade on 24 June AP Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A polar bear cools off in the Gelsenkirchen zoo in western Germany on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A woman plays in the in the fountains at the Trocadero Esplanade on 24 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Children play in Lake Walensee in Switzerland on the evening of 25 June EPA Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A refreshments table of water and syrups is laid out at an old folks home in Le Bouscat, France. Due to the heat, extra care provisions are available for the vulnerable in France Reuters Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A meerkat reaches for frozen food at the Berlin Zoo on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures People ride down the Old Danube in Vienna on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A boy plunges into a swimming pool in Essen, Germany on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A pigeon drinks from a fountain in Mulhouse, France on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Parisians rest in the shade down by the Seine on 26 June AP Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A boy jumps into the canal near Reims in northeastern France on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures People bathe at Amager in Copenhagen, Denmark on 25 June EPA Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A walrus feeds on an ice cake filled with frozen fish as her baby looks on i Hamburg Zoo, Germany on 26 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures Children play in a fountain in Nice, France on 26 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A couple steers an electric boat down the Old Danube in Vienna on 25 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A polar bear cools off at the Hamburg Zoo in Germany AP Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures A woman cools of in a water fountain on 26 June AFP/Getty Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures People lounge on the shore of the Baths of Paquis in Genevs on 25 June EPA Europe seeks relief in scorching Saharan heatwave: In pictures People enjoy the weather in Lake Walensee in Switzerland on 25 June EPA

In Italy, the Ministry of Health issued its maximum “red alert” warning for Rome, Florence, Perugia, Bolzano, Brescia and Rieti on Thursday.

A 72-year-old homeless Romanian man was found dead near Milan's central train station. Officials believe the heat may have been a factor in his death.

In Germany, temperatures of up to 39C are expected on Sunday from Saxony in the east to the upper Rhine in the west.

Over 3,000 athletes took part in an Ironman Race in Frankfurt on Saturday despite the heat.

Sarah True, one of the frontrunners of the female race, collapsed within a kilometre of the finish line of the final marathon stage of the competition.

Sebastian Kienle, who finished second in the men’s race, said: "It felt like a race against global warming - you could have fried an egg on my head."

Earlier in the week, officials imposed a 60 mph speed limit along stretches of the Saxony-Anhalt autobahn as the road surface began to deteriorate

Scientists said heatwaves in Europe are becoming more frequent, linking the intense temperatures to climate change.

Europe's five hottest summers since 1500 have all been in the 21st Century, according to climatology experts at the Potsdam Institute in Germany.

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"An increase in heatwaves is one of the clearest impacts of climate change," said Hannah Cloke, a professor at the University of Reading.

"Killer heat events of this kind will become even more widespread by the middle of the century in Europe, but this outlook could get worse unless action is taken to curb future greenhouse gas emissions."