In France the mercury was set to climb to 39 C (102 F) in the Rhone valley while Parisians faced a sticky 36 C.

The heatwave has claimed an estimated 40 lives in Europe over the past two weeks but there has been no repetition of the massive loss of life in the heatwave of 2003 when in France alone 15,000 died.

The heat was blamed for the deaths of a man of 87 and a woman of 89 in the northern Italian city of Turin during the night Tuesday, the Italian ANSA news agency reported, adding that there was a heavy call on hospitals during the night with many people wanting to stay in their air-conditioned buildings.

Temperatures were near 40 C in the city.

The death in Barcelona in northeast Spain of a woman of 83 brought the toll in that country to nine. Cooler weather was expected midweek before the heat returns at the weekend.

In Belgium temperatures were set to reach between 32 C and 36 C inland and 29 C on the coast and there were warnings of high levels of air pollution.

Further north in the Netherlands the heatwave has led to a rise in the number of workers calling in sick, figures from one of the leading organisations handling health issues for Dutch companies, De Arbo Unie, show.

Traditionally there is only a four-percent sickness absence in the summer months but this year the absentee rate is 7.4 percent above the average figure.

Mostly the people calling in sick are elderly or overweight, a company spokesman told the Dutch news agency ANP. There was also an increase in the number of diabetics and pregnant women falling ill.

To the east Polish firefighters are on maximum alert to tackle forest fires caused by the drought. Over 8,000 fires have broken out in recent days and access has been banned to most forests.

According to the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, Warsaw has seen the hottest month of July since temperatures began to be recorded 227 years ago. The average temperature in the Polish capital this month was 23.2 C, five degrees higher

In Germany the level of the river Elbe has dropped below 90 centimetres (three feet) at Dresden in the east of the country making navigation almost impossible. Normally the level is some 7.6 feet, though it was hoped forecast storms would swell the waters.

Other rivers also showed low levels.

The drought and heat have brought a warning from the head of Latvia's potato growers' association that this year's crop could shrink by 50 percent compared with last year.

"Nothing good can be expected this year, and the situation will be especially sad with the late-bearing potatoes," Ilmars Immurs of the Kartupelu Audzetaji was quoted by the Baltic News Service as saying.

The potato crop would be seriously damaged if Latvia sees no rain in the near future, Imurs added.

In Denmark, undergoing one of the hottest summers in its history, many local authorities have banned open air fires except at fixed barbecue sites. Electricity supplies in the Czech Republic were back to normal Wednesday after widespread blackouts caused by overload the day before.

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