Spain is bracing for a heatwave of ‘extraordinary intensity’ with May temperatures ‘unheard of’ as hot and dry Saharan air spikes temperatures to 107F (42C).
Red dust clouds and wildfires are also threatened by the blasts of northerly heat from Africa.
Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet predicted ‘one of the hottest Mays in this country in recent years’.
It said it activated its national plan for excess temperatures two weeks early on Thursday as ‘the summer is starting in the spring’.
Spokesperson Rubén del Campo said: ‘The last updates to the meteorological models confirm the extraordinary intensity of this heatwave.’
Northerly blasts of Saharan hot and dry air are set to send temperatures spiking to as high as 107F (42C) in the coming days
Eintracht Frankfurt fans do their best to enjoy the scorching heat in Seville following their team’s Europa League victory
Temperatures are expected to break the 100F (40C) barrier in several locations in the southern region of Andalucía today, and on the east coast around the Ebro valley – ‘something unheard of in that area in May’.
He added: ‘For Spain as a whole, it could be the most intense May heatwave of the past 20 years in terms of both the maximum and minimum temperatures.’
Friday and Saturday will be the hottest days in general terms and, although there will be an important drop in temperatures on Sunday across the western third of the peninsula, that could be the hottest day in parts of the eastern side of Spain and in the Balearic islands.’
Normally the summer plan is activated between June and September, but the period for temperatures ‘in the 30s’ (86F plus) had ‘arrived 20 – 40 days early’.
Spain is set to experience its hottest late Spring for 20 years as temperatures in the country’s south will be ‘unheard of’
Tourists dive into the Sea Salines beach, Ibiza. Red dust clouds and wildfires could be threatened by the record temperatures
Aemet, put the cause of the extreme heat wave on a wall of hot and dry air coming up from Africa
Spain recorded its highest ever temperature only last year, when the Andalucían town of Montoro near Cordoba hit 117F (47C) on August 15.
Del Campo warned of the extreme risk of forest fires that such heat across the southern, central and north eastern parts of the country would entail and said people could expect another calima dust cloud.
‘This will be an extreme episode and the risk that comes with the high temperatures will be important in many areas,’ he said.
‘Another thing to be aware of is dust in the air, which could lead to calimas in the south and east of the peninsula, with murky skies and reduced visibility.
That concentration of dust in the air could increase on Friday and Saturday across the peninsula and the Balearic islands as air comes in from north Africa carrying the dust from the Sahara. That will again cause a decline in air quality.’
The Spanish government has warned that people in affected areas that vulnerable people such as children, pregnant women, and older and chronically ill people will be at extra risk.
They advise keeping hydrated and wearing light clothing.
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