Last month will go down in history as the hottest June Europe has ever seen - and heatwaves like the one roasting Europe could soon become the new normal.

New research has found such heatwaves are up to 100 times more likely now than they were a century ago - and scientists say climate change is to blame.

They also claim that such heatwaves will become the norm by the middle of next century, if current warming trends continue.

Two separate studies undertaken in the wake of the latest period of unusually warm weather examined how these temperatures compare with the planet's recent past.

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Last month will go down in history as the hottest June the world has ever recorded and heatwaves like the one roasting Europe could soon become the new norm, experts say. This image shows the °C variation from average during the five-day period of June 25-29, 2019

Experts from the Copernicus Climate Change Service studied European Union data on temperatures across the continent over the past month.

They found that the European-average temperature for June 2019 was higher than for any other June on record - at 2°C (3.6°F) above normal.

Summer temperatures so far are also 1°C (1.8°F) above the previous European record, set in 1999, they say.

The World Weather Attribution initiative also discovered that extended three-day warm periods are a minimum of five to 10 times more likely now than in 1900.

However - based on observations of temperature in Toulouse, where experts were gathered for a conference, over a three day period - they calculated a 100x increase.

The analysis also suggests that such heatwaves are 4°C (7.2°F) hotter than a similar event would have been a century ago.

Top temperature records were smashed in parts Europe, including France which saw a new high of 45.9°C (114.6°F), more than 1.5C above the previous record.

But the analysis focused on the three-day average which includes night time temperatures as well as day time highs, has more impact on human health.

For France temperatures averaged 27.5°C (81°F), and in Toulouse, chosen because some of the scientists involved were at a conference there at the time, it was more than 30C (86°F) over that period.

The experts also warned a heatwave in June is potentially more serious for people as the holiday season has not yet begun and it is harder for people to avoid the highest temperatures.

The study looked at three-day average temperatures across France, where the highest temperatures in Europe were recorded. More than 230 studies were examined whether climate change made particular weather events more likely.

Dr Friederike Otto, Acting Director, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK said: ‘This is a strong reminder again, that climate change is happening here and now. It is not a problem for our kids only.

‘These numbers show very clearly that large scale projections are indicative at best of local climate change. If we want to understand what climate change means locally we have to bring different lines of evidence together, at the local scale where decisions are made.’

New research has found such heatwaves are up to 100 times more likely now than they were a century ago - and scientists say climate change is to blame. Pictured: Average June temperatures for Europe (top) and globally (bottom) from 1979 to 2019, shown as differences from long-term average values for 1981 to 2010. June 2019 is highlighted in red

Scientists also claim that such heatwaves will become the norm by the middle of next century, if current warming trends continue. Pictured: Average June temperatures (°C) for Europe (top) and globally (bottom) from 1880 to 2019, shown as differences from long-term average values for 1850 to 1900. June 2019 is highlighted

The heatwave that struck large parts of Europe last week 'broke several historical records … in France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain', researchers say.

The respective studies have not been peer-reviewed yet, but both group use methods that are widely considered valid in the scientific community.

With the heatwave moving towards eastern Europe, temperatures soared to 39°C (102°F) in Serbia on Tuesday, though showers in the evening could provide some relief.

Drinking water tanks have been set up in Belgrade parks with doctors warning the elderly to stay indoors.

The surge in temperatures comes after weeks of unusually severe thunderstorms in parts of Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Croatia that have triggered floods and extreme humidity.

In Germany, thousands of firefighters, soldiers and civil defence personnel are battling a large wildfire in an area used for military exercises after weeks of dry weather.

Officials said the blaze in Luebtheen, about 100 miles (160km) north west of Berlin, is the biggest in the history of Mecklenburg Western Pomerania state.