Scorched, parched western Europe suffers through another heat wave

Large parts of western Europe were sweltering once again on Thursday, with Britain and France entering their fifth heat waves of an exceptional summer that's threatening to break even more records.

Forecasters in the U.K. are predicting the mercury will rise as high as 38 C in central and southeast England, potentially making it the hottest day of the year.

The highest temperature this year was recorded on June 26 when the temperature hit 38 C in eastern England.

The U.K.'s Met Office said earlier this week that only average conditions were needed for the rest of August to beat last year's record for the hottest year.

Temperatures in France, meanwhile, are forecast to go even higher, reaching 40 C in central and southern areas and 38 C in Paris.

In Britain, it emerged Thursday that working has been particularly difficult in hospitals, where nurses have been known to collapse from heat exhaustion, according to the Royal College of Nursing.

"When nursing staff are collapsing, feeling dizzy, sick or even being admitted to the very hospitals they work in because their workplaces cannot handle the heat, it shows just how badly they are being failed," said Nicola Ranger, the college's chief executive and general secretary.

This summer has shown that both Britain and France are ill-equipped to deal with these levels of heat.

Air conditioning is a rarity outside of shops and offices, for example.

Like many parts of Europe, Britain and France are facing widespread drought conditions that have shrivelled crops and drained rivers, heaping pressure on water resources for households, agriculture and the environment.

Britain's Southern Water, which oversees supplies in the south of England, has applied for a rare drought order that would ban businesses from non-essential water use, including cleaning cars and filling non-domestic swimming pools, saying an "exceptional" lack of rain has threatened supplies in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.

With the land parched and no sign of any meaningful rain coming, authorities in Britain and France remain on high alert for wildfires.

In Britain, which is increasingly looking sandy brown rather than its traditional luscious green, firefighters have been out in force this week trying to contain a wildfire in the New Forest in southern England.

Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data from the National Fire Chiefs Council, the same as last year's record-breaking total.