Extreme heat is scorching Europe. How should Canadians prepare for summer travel?

Summer is the peak season for travel to Europe, but given the current extreme weather, experts are urging travellers to adjust their plans.

Scorching weather has disrupted travel in the United Kingdom as an extreme heat wave is sweeping across southern Europe.

Britain’s first-ever “red” alert warning came into effect Monday for large parts of England and will last through Tuesday when temperatures may reach a record 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time.

On Monday, high temperatures in the U.K. reached the upper 30s but Tuesday will be even hotter with places like London hitting the 40-degree mark, said Anthony Farnell, Global News’s chief meteorologist.

“This will likely be the warmest temperature ever recorded in the U.K.,” he said.

Meanwhile, wildfires are raging through France and Spain, where a week-long heat wave has caused hundreds of deaths. Belgium and Germany were among the countries expecting the heat wave to hit them in coming days.

Summer is the peak season for travel to Europe, but given the current extreme weather that is expected to continue, experts are urging travellers to adjust their plans to minimize risks.

“Heat stress is a silent killer,” said Glen Kenny, a professor and research chair in human environmental physiology at the University of Ottawa.

“What’s important to understand is there’s just always that risk and it can come on like a light bulb.”