Meteorologists in Britain said that the mercury could shoot up to its highest level ever on Sunday, beating the record of 37.1 degrees CelsiusFahrenheit) set in Cheltenham, central England, in August 1990.

For the past week, thermometers across Europe have climbed to the uncomfortable mid and upper 30s Celsius, with several cities topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

With tourists flocking to museums and frolicking in fountains to cool off, forecasters said relief was not on the cards -- France's national weather service Meteo France predicted the stifling heat would continue through Friday.

The oppressive heat has left 19 people dead in Spain and at least one in France -- a three-year-old girl who died of dehydration in her family's car, parked at their home near the Channel port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The unrelenting heat wave, combined with a severe drought, had also helped fuel devastating wildfires across the southern part of the continent that have left 20 dead -- 15 in Portugal and five in France.

Pope John Paul II on Sunday prayed for those killed in the deadly blazes -- and for some much-needed rain -- during a mass given at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo southeast of Rome.

"I invite you to join my prayer for the victims of this calamity and I urge you to fervently pray to the Lord to give the parched earth a bit of cool rain," the pontiff said.

The forest fires in Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain have ravaged more than 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of pinewood and brush in the past two weeks, most of it in Portugal.

Authorities in Lisbon estimated the rash of blazes, which they said Sunday were still burning but under control, had caused damage totalling at least 925 million euros (1.05 billion dollars).

In southern France, where fast-moving forest fires have consumed large swathes of woodland off the fashionable Mediterranean coast, more than 700 firefighters on Sunday battled a blaze near the Riviera city of Nice.

One firefighter was slightly injured when a World War II-era shell exploded at the scene.

Exhausted fire brigades in Croatia -- which is experiencing its worst drought in half a century -- were tackling a blaze raging in Paklenica national park in the center of the country, Hina news agency reported.

Their task was made more hazardous by the fact that the hard-to-reach region has not been swept for the land mines that were liberally planted there during the country's 1991-1995 war.

The heat has caused major problems for Europe's farmers: producers in the German state of Brandenburg said the heat could destroy up to 80 percent of their crops, while in France, about one million chickens died last week.

The hot, dry weather also risked interrupting traffic on the Danube, one of Europe's longest waterways. Port authorities in Romania said two ships that sank during World War II but resurfaced due to low water levels could block river traffic.

The heat wave was caused by an anticyclone which has anchored itself firmly over the west European land mass, holding off rain-bearing depressions over the Atlantic and funnelling hot air north from Africa.

Though there was no clear evidence putting the blame on global warming and greenhouse gas production, scientists at the World Meteorological Office point out that the world's 10 hottest recorded years have all taken place since 1987.

Not everyone was singing the summer blues: pub and bar owners in Britain were rejoicing, as an estimated three million extra pints of beer were expected to be consumed over the weekend.

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SPACE.WIRE