Temperature in the Netherlands tops 40 C for first time

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Temperatures in the Netherlands topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on record on Thursday, Dutch meteorology institute KNMI said.

Temperatures peaked at 40.4 C in the south of the country, breaking the national record of 39.3 degrees set a day earlier.

Until Wednesday, the Dutch national heat record had stood at 38.6 degrees since the summer of 1944.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Alison Williams)