Western Europeans pant in early summer heatwave compounding climate change fears

Spain headed for its hottest early summer temperatures in four decades on Friday, one area of France banned outdoor events, and drought stalked Italian farmers as a heat wave sent Europeans hunting for shade and fretting over climate change.

"Avoid over-exposing to the sun, hydrate and take care of the most vulnerable so they don't suffer from heat stroke," was the advice from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid during an event, fittingly, about desertification.

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Temperatures were due to reach 40 to 42 degrees Celsius (104-108 Fahrenheit) in Madrid and Zaragoza, in central and eastern Spain respectively, the national weather agency AEMET said. Those would be levels not seen so early in the year since 1981.

Northern Italian regions risk losing up to half their agricultural output due to a drought, a farm lobby said, as lakes and rivers start to run dangerously low, jeopardising irrigation.

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Firefighters were battling wildfires in several parts of Spain, with Catalonia in eastern Spain and Zamora near the western border with Portugal the worst hit.