Laurence Dollimore
A WEEK-LONG heatwave is coming to Spain with temperatures set to soar to a sizzling 44C.
According to state weather agency AEMET, the extreme heat will land on Thursday and last until July 25, with an overwhelming majority of the country affected.
In fact, 11 provinces are already on alert for dangerous conditions today, with the mercury expected to exceed 40C in Jaen and Cordoba, where amber-level warnings are in place.
Meanwhile, areas on yellow alert for temperatures in the high 30s are; Granada, Huelva, Sevilla, Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo and the Community of Madrid. Even in the north, AEMET predicts an increase of up to 10C in parts of Navarra, the Basque Country, La Rioja, north of Burgos and the interior of Cantabria.
Tomorrow, the heat wave becomes official thanks to the arrival of a huge anticyclone that will bring a mass of hot and dry air from north Africa to the Iberian Peninsula.
The air will carry Saharan dust and cause a significant rise in temperatures.
Weather experts do not rule out record-breaking temperatures, with many areas in the south and centre of the country expected to near 45C.
The episode of ‘exceptionally high temperatures’ will affect practically all of Spain – except the northwest quadrant and the Cantabrian area.
From tomorrow, temperatures may exceed 40C in large areas of southern Castilla-La Mancha, southern Extremadura and much of inland Andalucia, where they could even reach 44C in the Guadalquivir valley, according to Aemet.
Friday will be the hottest day, with minimum temperatures in the south not falling below 24C.
Meanwhile the maximum temperatures will remain very high or even rise on the eastern coast, in the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands.
Temperatures will exceed 40C in large areas of the south as well as in the Ebro Valley.
Throughout Friday, the mercury will sit between 40C and 44C in capitals such as Albacete, Badajoz, Caceres, Ciudad Real, Cordoba, Granada, Guadalajara, Lleida, Jaen, Logroño, Madrid, Murcia, Sevilla, Toledo, Teruel and Zaragoza, among others.
Temperatures in the north and on Mallorca will reach highs of 38C.
There may be a slight drop in intensity over Saturday and Sunday, but meteorologists say that will quickly return on Monday.
In fact, they cannot yet say for certain when the heatwave will actually end.
