Irish holidaymakers going to Spain over the coming weeks are being warned to prepare for extremely hot weather.
A blistering heatwave has struck the holiday hotspot with temperatures expected to reach 44C in some areas.
The extreme weather event is expected to last well into next week, although forecasters have warned that “the episode will probably be long” and “it is not possible to establish the end of this episode”.
The country’s meteorological agency AEMET has put in place several ‘maximum temperature’ weather warnings, while locals have warned it’s too hot to even sleep.
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AEMET says the heat will be intense with areas in the south of the peninsula most likely to see 44C heat over the next few days, with nighttime temperatures not dropping below 25C.
Issuing an update today, AEMET said: “At the moment, a ridge located to the east of the Peninsula, on the coast of North Africa, is giving rise to the entry of a mass of very warm and dry air, of Saharan origin, over the Mediterranean, without affecting our territory for the moment.
“In the next few days, it is expected that the movement of this ridge to the west brings the mass of very warm air closer to the east and south of the peninsula, as well as the Balearic Islands, which, together with the stability and high insolation of its own of the season, will give rise to an episode of very high temperatures from Sunday the 9th and, especially, during the next week.
“It is likely that the entry of the warm air mass will accompanied by haze The extent of the affected area is still uncertain: at this time.
“The areas with the greatest probability of suffering the episode of very high temperatures are the southern and southeast of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, without ruling out that it could spread to areas of the centre of the peninsula and Ebro valley.
“Temperatures will rise in the coming days, and on Sunday it is likely that they will already exceed 40C locally in the Guadalquivir valley and points in eastern Andalusia and the southern plateau, and 36C in the interior of the Balearic Islands and in the Ebro valley.
“As of Monday, it is likely that it will exceed 38C in a general way, and locally 40C, in the south-eastern quadrant of the peninsula and points of the Ebro valley. In areas of the valley of the Guadalquivir could already exceed 42C today.
“In inland areas of the Balearic Islands, it is not ruled out also exceeding 38C. Most likely, the temperatures will remain very high in the following days, even ascending even more during Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th, without ruling out that these days could reaching 44C in areas of the Guadalquivir valley.
“The minimum temperatures will also be very high during the episode, with tropical nights, above 20C, and even locally above 25C, in the southeastern half peninsular, especially in the southeastern third, and in the Balearic Islands.
“At this time, it is not possible to establish the end of this episode of very high temperatures. Although a slight drop in temperatures could start at the end of next week, the temperatures would continue at very high values.”
It comes as locals have warned the heat is making it impossible to even sleep. Rocia, a mum of three, told CGTN: "I have three young girls, we come here to these water jets which are free and we can cool off a bit, it's so hot in Madrid that we can't even sleep, even with the air conditioning at full blast."
The heatwave has also resulted in at least one death. A 47-year-old man died on Monday while ploughing a field in a town in Seville.
Irish tourists are being urged to take necessary precautions in the intense heat and to follow the advice of local authorities.
