ARCHIVED - Highs of 46 degrees expected as Spain prepares for weekend heatwave
Large swathes of Spain are on red or orange alert over during the weekend of August 13-15
The temperatures this weekend in Spain are likely to be close to the highest ever reported in Europe
The hottest temperature ever recorded in the whole of Europe was reported this week in the city of Siracusa, in Sicily, and according to the Spanish State meteorological agency Aemet the figures in parts of Spain over the next couple of days will not be much lower.
On Friday August 13 heat alerts have been issued for practically the whole of the country, with the exception of Mediterranean coastal areas, the mountainous northern Atlantic coastal regions and the Canary Islands, with red alert warnings in place in the Andalucía provinces of Jaén, Córdoba and Sevilla. The forecast is for highs of 43 or 44 degrees in the three provincial capitals, but higher temperatures could occur in other inland areas outside the city centres.
Neither is Saturday expected to provide any relief, with similar temperatures throughout the country. On this occasion red alert warnings have been issued only in Córdoba and inland areas of Sevilla, but a band of orange alerts stretches all the way across mainland Spain from Cádiz in the south-west to the Pyrenees in the north-east, and the highest forecast temperature is 47 degrees in Córdoba!
Thunderstorms could well break out during the afternoon, and warnings have been issued for some inland areas of the Comunidad Valenciana and southern Aragón.
In these conditions, authorities throughout the country are stressing the need to avoid going outdoors during the heat of the afternoon, to avoid strenuous physical exercise during the day if possible and to drink plenty of water. Heatstroke is a real threat in this kind of extreme temperature, and unfortunately it causes numerous fatalities in Spain every summer.
With night-time lows hovering in the mid-twenties many people across Spain will be finding it difficult to sleep comfortably, but with expected maximums of only around 24 degrees over the weekend the north-western region of Galicia could find itself an unexpected influx of visitors attempting to escape the roasting temperatures of the rest of the country!
By Sunday August 15 the heat may begin to die down but only very slowly, and temperatures of over 40 degrees will be widespread. At present no red alert warnings are in place for Sunday, but this could easily change as Aemet review the situation on an on-going basis.