LONDON, July 2 (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.

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),

France and the rest of Europe are still in the grips of the first major heat wave this summer even as conditions began to improve in some parts of the region