Europe heatwave: Record temperatures hit France, Germany and Poland

People have been playing and enjoying the sunshine in the fountains by the famous Eiffel tower in Paris

Get the suncream at the ready because Europe is experiencing a heatwave!

Countries like Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic saw record temperatures on Wednesday.

France and Switzerland are expected to see temperatures rise to around 40 degrees in the next few days.

But it's not all good news because the heatwave has also caused flooding and forest fires, grounded planes and even melted train tracks!

Around 50 schools in the Essonne region, just south of Paris, are being shut, because they don't have good enough air conditioning.

Earlier in the week, some French schools that were open, cancelled planned exams because of the scorching temperatures.

France has also set up temporary water fountains in busy city areas and is keeping swimming pools open later to help people cool down.

In Germany, some people are even filling hot water bottles, putting them in freezers and then taking them to bed!

Cars are banned

Paris is trying to help stop high pollution by banning cars in the city centre.

Most cars have also been banned from Paris to try and ease pollution in the city during the heatwave.

The hot weather and pollution causes smog which is basically thick black fog caused by car fumes.

In an effort to stop this from happening people living in the capital are being encouraged to park their vehicles and take public transport.

It's predicted all time temperature records could be broken in France by the end of the week.

Europe is hot, hot, hot!

These kids are playing in the fountains in Spain as temperatures reached around 38 degrees, and are set to get hotter

Lots of Europe is very hot at the moment because hot air is blowing in from the Sahara desert in Africa which is being called a 'Spanish Plume'.

In parts of north Spain the heat is expected to reach 45 degrees on Friday.

It's also reaching unseasonal temperatures in Switzerland, but schools will stay open there because authorities say parents who work cannot be expected to look after their children during the day.

These meerkats at a zoo in Germany are getting stuck into some veggie ice lollies!

It's not just humans having to deal with the very hot weather, in zoos across Europe, animals have been eating ice lollies and frozen fruit to try and keep cool.

Hot weather is expected for parts of the UK with the possibility of record-breaking temperatures, according to the Met Office.

Experts say such heatwaves early in the summer are likely to be more frequent due to global warming.