RED ALERT: Warnings across Spain as temperatures to surpass 40C TODAY before scorcher along Costa del Sol on Friday

A MASS of hot air will send temperatures past the 40C mark in parts of Spain today. 

Red alerts have been issued by weather agency AEMET in the Basque country, where Vizcaya and Bilbao expect to reach 41C and 38C respectively.

Balmaseda and Durango, also on red alert, will see highs of 39C.

The risk of fires will also from high to extreme throughout the Basque region today.

Meanwhile, 10 other regions are on orange alert (significant risk) for high temperatures: Huesca, Teruel, Zaragoza, Burgos, Gerona, Lleida, Navarra, La Rioja, Álava and Guipúzcoa.

A further 26 provinces are on yellow alert for heat: Almeria, Cordoba, Granada, Jaen, Sevilla, Cantabria, Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo, Ávila, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid, Barcelona, ??Tarragona, Madrid , Badajoz, Cáceres, Ibiza and Formentera, Mallorca and Menorca.

Some 15 more central provinces, meanwhile, are on alert for storms: Cantabria, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Guadalajara, Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Madrid, Lugo, Orense and Asturias.

While Malaga and the Costa del Sol have avoided hotter temperatures today, that will be expected to change come Friday.

According to the Weather Channel, Malaga capital will see highs of 36C at the start of the weekend.

The likes of Marbella, Estepona and Manilva, meanwhile, will all see highs of 33C.