The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the current heatwave "a dress rehearsal", saying European countries must be much better prepared if they are to save lives.
In a statement, the organisation described a bleak picture of calls to emergency services being up by 50 per cent in some places, with London receiving the highest number of calls in one day. Spain "has already estimated more than 300 heat-associated excess deaths in just a few days. Italy reported five deaths in 24 hours."
