France, June 26 -- Millions of people across France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom have faced temperatures above 40C this week.

The intense heat has been linked to dozens of deaths and disrupted power supplies, with schools and tourist sites closed across parts of Europe.

A rapid study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group published on Friday found it would have been "virtually impossible" for such exceptional temperatures to occur in June 50 years ago.

The scientists compared the current heatwave with how the same weather pattern would have unfolded in 1976 and 2003 - years when heatwaves also occured.

They found an equivalent event in June 1976 would have been around 3.5C cooler during the day and significantly cooler a...