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At the tail-end of the weekend, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issued a special adverse weather warning for a new heatwave that will impact all of Spain, with the exception of Cantabria. While meteorologists initially thought the heat would begin easing off by Thursday August 7, they now believe the scorching temperatures will last at least until Sunday August 10.

 

Aemet is now advising that the mercury will continue to inch up day by day, giving rise to a “very probable” heatwave episode, a worrying development given that wildfires are already tearing through the tinderbox countryside.

 

The thermometers started creeping up on Sunday August 3, exceeding 38ºC in much of the southwest and even hitting 40-42ºC in the valleys of the Guadiana, Guadalquivir and Tagus.

 

With Atlantic high pressure extending over much of the country and low pressure to the southwest, more is yet to come.

 

On Monday August 4, the temperature increases will continue and will extend significantly inland, where the day will be stuffy and uncomfortably hot. Aemet again expects thermometers to come close to 40°C in much of the southwest and there’s a good chance they’ll exceed 42°C around the Guadiana and Guadalquivir rivers.

 

Orange alerts for extreme temperatures on Monday: Andalucía, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid.

 

Yellow alerts for extreme temperatures on Monday: Aragon, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, Navarra, Basque Country, La Rioja.

 

On Tuesday August 5 and Wednesday August 6, abnormally warm temperatures are expected to continue across the country, with highs similar to or locally higher than Monday's.

 

Orange alerts for extreme temperatures on Tuesday: Andalucía, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid.

 

Yellow alerts for extreme temperatures on Tuesday: Castilla y Leon, Region of Murcia.

 

Despite this, temperatures will actually drop significantly in the north of Spain on Tuesday before shooting up again on Wednesday. During these two days, the mercury is expected to reach 38-40°C in the northeast and, again, in the southeast.

 

Orange alerts for extreme temperatures on Wednesday: Andalucía, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Madrid.

 

Yellow alerts for extreme temperatures on Wednesday: Aragon, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarra, La Rioja, Valencian Community.

 

The forecast gets a little harder to predict from Thursday August 7 but at the moment, it looks as though the temperatures will continue upwards in the east of the country while dipping slightly along the Cantabrian coast.

 

Still, the mercury is expected to hover around the 38-degree mark in most of southern Spain, even tipping 42°C in southern Galicia, the eastern Cantabrian Sea and the interior of the Balearic Islands.

 

Aemet has added that, although the rise in minimum temperatures won’t be as dramatic or widespread, all of Spain is still in for a few uncomfortably hot nights. Temperatures are not expected to drop below 23-25°C in central and southern Spain, while the entire Mediterranean coast is also on alert for tropical nights.

 

 

Image: Ministry of Health