Barcelona recorded its hottest month of June since records started over a century ago, Spain's national weather service said on Tuesday as Europe remained in the grip of the first major heat wave this summer.

The worst heat was felt in southern Europe, while punishing temperatures were forecast to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Paris and remain unusually high in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Barcelona recorded its hottest June in over a century, the summit of Paris' iconic Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors and hundreds of French schools shut Tuesday as Europe sizzled in its first major heat wave of the summer.