People cool off at the Trocadero Fountains in Paris. (File photo)

Paris on Thursday recorded its hottest temperature since records began, Meteo France said, as a heatwave spread across Europe.

Meteo France said a temperature of 40.6 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) had been recorded in the capital at around 1:40 pm.

That beat the previous record, which was the 40.4 degrees Celsius recorded in July 1947.

Temperatures in Britain are also set to reach their highest-ever levels on Thursday as northern Europe baked in a heatwave for the second time in a month.