Soaring temperatures across Europe likely to break record

Scientists monitoring the decline say the glacier will lose its title of the highest point to the mountain's northern tip.

Wildfires have also raged in some parts of Europe, the most devastating occurring across Greece killing more than 90 people, and Sweden has battled dozens of fires as far north as the Arctic Circle.

One of the principal problems lies in the fact that few countries are sufficiently well-equipped to cope with the insufferable heat, although some abrupt measures have been taken by individual countries, including in Finland where supermarkets are allowing customers to sleep in its air-conditioned aisles.