LONDON (Reuters) -Four people died in Spain, two in France and two in Italy as an early summer heatwave continued to grip much of Europe on Wednesday, triggering health alerts and forest fires and forcing the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.

Two people were found dead by firefighters tackling a blaze in Spain's Catalonia region on Tuesday, as Europe endures scorching temperatures during the ongoing heatwave. In a statement, Catalan authorities said the two bodies were found after firefighters extinguished a fire in the Torrefeta area, near the town of Coscó.

Barcelona has recorded its hottest month of June since records started over a century ago, Spain’s national weather service said. The Can Fabra Observatory, located on a hill overlooking Barcelona, reported an average temperature of 26 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit),