Italy limited work outdoors, France shut schools and Turkey battled wildfires on Tuesday in a European heatwave that meteorologists said was "exceptional" for striking so early this year.

Dozens of the country's mainland regions are currently under the second-highest alert as the heatwave continues.

Schools were partially shut in France, iconic monuments closed to tourists, and cities across Europe put on high alert as a record-breaking early summer heatwave spread across the continent Tuesday.Withering conditions that have baked southern Europe for days crept northward where such extremes are much rarer,