The heat wave gripping much of Europe has claimed its first victims. French authorities have linked the deaths of an elderly man and woman in the south-western city of Bordeaux to the soaring temperatures. Four more deaths have been reported in Spain and the Netherlands.

France suffered the worst loss of life in a pan-European heat wave three years ago. Since then programmes have been put in place to keep an eye on the most vulnerable.

One video-link system in Nice keeps elderly residents in direct contact with surveillance centres which monitor the temperatures in their apartments. Britain meanwhile could record its highest ever temperature today, according to forecasters who say there is a thirty percent chance of breaking the all-time record of 38.5 degrees Celsius.

Weather experts have linked the heatwave to rising greenhouse gas emissions, and say it is a sign of things to come. Two deaths have been reported in Spain, where temperatures in excess of 40 degrees have been recorded. One of the victims was a 44-year-old man who died of heat exhaustion.

There were more heat-related fatalities in the Netherlands, where two people died after taking part in a large walking event.

PHOTO CAPTION

A youth runs through a fountain during heatwave in Derby, central England, July 17, 2006 (Reuters)