COPENHAGEN, July 21 — Denmark on Wednesday reported the highest-ever recorded temperature for July, the country’s meteorological institute said, warning that the country was nearing an all-time temperature record.

The announcement came as a heatwave that has already broken records in other parts of Europe spread north into the Nordic nations.

According to the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), the previous temperature record for July was measured in 1941, when the quicksilver hit 35.3 degrees Celsius (95.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Today that was beaten with 35.6 degrees, recorded in Borris in West Jutland,” the DMI said in a post to Twitter.

A few hours later, DMI announced that an even higher temperature, 35.9 degrees, had been recorded on the island of Lolland.

"And we have the second-hottest day in Danish weather history,” it said, adding that the heat seemed to be subsiding as winds cooled by the North Sea moved in from the south west.

The weather service had already warned that several Danish records could be broken Wednesday as hot air moved in from the south.

"Today may go down in history as some forecasts suggest a new Danish warming record is within reach,” the DMI said in a statement. "The old record is a whopping 47 years old.”

Denmark’s all-time temperature high, 36.4 degrees Celsius, was recorded in August 1975.

In neighbouring Sweden, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) on Tuesday issued an alert covering large parts of the country for Wednesday and Thursday.

"Tt will be very hot, with temperatures reaching 30-35 degrees,” the weather agency warned. — AFP