By Emma Pinedo PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) -Several Italian regions banned outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day, France shut scores of schools and Spain confirmed last month as its hottest June on record as a severe heatwave gripped Europe, triggering widespread health alerts. Spanish authorities were investigating whether a street sweeper's death over the weekend in Barcelona was caused by the heatwave and trade unions blamed the heat for the death on Monday of a 47-year-old man on a construction site near Bologna. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, with extreme heatwaves occurring earlier in the year, and persisting into later months. "What is exceptional, and I would stress exceptional but not unprecedented is the time of year," said World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis. "We are the first of July and we are seeing episodes of extreme heat which normally we would see later on in the summer. Higher temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea tend "to reinforce the extreme temperatures over land areas," she said. The Mediterranean Sea was up to 6 degrees Celsius warmer than usual for the time of year, hitting a record of as much as 30 C (86 F) in Spain's Balearic Sea as a heat dome trapped hot air above Europe, the country's AEMET weather forecaster said. Spain recorded its hottest June last month, with an average temperature of 23.6 C, AEMET said. The Red Cross has set up an air-conditioned "climate refuge" in southern Malaga, said IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa, to help residents cope with the searing temperatures. Extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually around the world, according to Swiss Re, which notes this exceeds the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. HEALTH ALERTS The heat was set to peak in France on Tuesday, reaching 40-41 C in some areas and 36-39 C in many others, weather forecaster Meteo France said. Sixteen departments will be on the highest level of alert from noon, with 68 on the second highest. Some 1,350 schools were fully or partially closed, up from around 200 on Monday, the Education Ministry said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with visitors advised to drink plenty of water. Italy, meanwhile, issued heatwave red alerts for 17 cities, including Milan and Rome. In Sicily, a 53-year-old woman with a heart condition died while walking in the city of Bagheria, news agencies reported, possibly of heatstroke. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are a key cause of climate change, with deforestation and industrial practices being other contributing factors. Last year was the planet's hottest on record. "We keep hearing about climate change. I think we're definitely feeling it now," Omar Bah, a rental company worker said in London, where temperatures hit 32 C. "When I was younger, summer wasn't like this." Across Europe, tourists also sought ways to keep cool. "We woke up as early as possible to get out as early as possible so we can rest during the afternoon," Susana Leivonen, a 45-year-old from Finland said in Paris. The family were prepared with water and sun lotion, and planned to seek respite in shops or take an afternoon nap. The scorching temperatures have raised the risk of field fires as farmers in France, the European Union's biggest grain producer, start harvesting this year's crop, with many working through the night to avoid peak temperatures in the afternoon. (Additional reporting by Emma Farge, Michaela Cabrera, Ingrid Melander, Kate Abnett, Gus Trompiz, Rachel More, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Alvise Armellini; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
