BERLIN, July 6 (UPI) -- Germany broke its heat record on Sunday after a 104.5 degree Fahrenheit temperature was documented, the hottest since records began in 1881.
The previous record of 104.3 degrees Fahrenheit was set in 1983 and matched in 2003. The new record was broken in the town of Kitzingen, a town of about 20,000 people located in southern Bavaria.
About 12 people died due to drowning in lakes, ponds, rivers and pools throughout the country in efforts by Germans to keep cool.
Europe has been experiencing a record-breaking heatwave. Britain endured its hottest day in July on Wednesday, causing roads to melt, train schedules to be disrupted and emergency calls to rise.
The official temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit broke a record set in 2006, and prompted a Level 3 "heatwave action" to be declared by the Meteorological Office in Britain.
Weather alerts were issued across Western Europe, as Britain, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and northern Italy expected temperatures to reach temperatures of about 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ed Adamczyk contributed to this report.
