Europe is heading into another heatwave. Here are all the areas affected

Europe is bracing for another heatwave this weekend - and into next week - as temperatures soar.

The sweltering conditions are caused by a high-pressure system arriving from Africa.

This is expected to expand from Spain to central Europe lasting until at least next week, according to Swiss and French weather agencies.

It is forecast to engulf southern France, Switzerland, southern Germany, and northern Italy.

Weather forecasters predict temperatures up to 42C in Italy, 40C in France and 37C in Switzerland.

Climate change makes heatwaves more intense and more frequent, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed.

Here’s what you need to know about how the heatwave will affect Europe.

Italy will be hit by its third heatwave of the summer this weekend, according to weather experts.

Meteorologists are forecasting a “weekend on fire” with extreme temperatures and humid conditions between Saturday 19 and Sunday 20.

The soaring temperatures come amid warm air masses moving in from the Sahara across Algeria and Morocco.

Also known as a heat dome, this “works like a lid on a pot” according to the meteorological site Severe Weather.

Scientists have not found a direct link between heat domes and climate change.

However, a study in Nature found that limiting global heating to 1.5C instead of 2C would significantly reduce the number of people exposed to extreme temperatures caused by heat domes.

“The extensive dome of heat results in the trapping of a hot air mass at all levels underneath, with sinking layers toward the ground.”

The areas greatest affected will be the plains in northern Italy and the Tyrrhenian Sea coastline, where the mercury will hit 40C, and Sardinia which is expected to see 42C.

Experts warn that forecasts