Irish holidaymakers heading to Spain this week are being warned to prepare for “extreme” heat.
Weather warnings have been issued for some holiday hotspots as temperatures could exceed a scorching 40C.
The country’s meteorological agency AEMET has described it as “a truly unusual episode” in what could be the “earliest heatwave” in Spain since records began.
READ MORE: Spain weather: Irish tourists warned of heatwave with over 40C possible amid 'unusual' forecast
It has issued a number of ‘maximum temperatures’ weather warnings for locations popular with Irish tourists including Madrid and Seville.
Temperatures are set to peak from Thursday and continue rising until Saturday. AEMET says the warmest days will be Friday and Saturday, while temperatures will likely fall from Monday to “more typical” values.
Weather models show daytime temperatures will generally hover around the mid-30s this week - but could exceed 40C in parts, while nighttime temperatures in some areas may not drop below 20C.
AEMET said: “The warm episode will be very unusual for mid-May: daytime temperatures between 10C and 15C above normal and night temperatures between 5C and 10C above, with tropical nights in which it will not drop below 20C.”
In an update on Thursday morning, AEMET said today will see “very high maximum temperatures”, with 34C reached in most of the north east, centre and south Spain as of 8.30am.
It comes after what it described as a “tropical night” with temperatures not dropping below 20C in parts of the north east, centre and south of Spain.
Irish tourists are being urged to take necessary precautions in the “intense” heat.
Irish weather expert Alan O’Reilly shared news of the incoming heatwave on his popular Carlow Weather Twitter account, writing: “Some intense heat heading for Spain later this week with over 40C possible.
"That is unusually high temperatures for Spain in May!”
It comes as parts of India and Pakistan experienced exceptional heatwave conditions over recent weeks, while much of western Europe is preparing for significant heat this week.
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