Irish holidaymakers heading to Spain in the coming days are being warned to prepare for extreme heat.
Forecasters have predicted temperatures could reach a blistering 44C at times and have issued several weather warnings, including a Status Red alert.
These sorts of temperatures are much higher than Ireland has ever seen. 33.3C is the highest temperature ever recorded here, with that record set in Kilkenny on June 26, 1887.
Spain’s State Meteorological Agency AEMET has issued multiple ‘maximum temperature’ weather warnings affecting much of the country.
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They range from Status Yellow and Status Orange to its highest Status Red alert for three zones this coming Monday.
AEMET warned: “Over the next few days, the intense heat will pose a significant, and even extreme, danger in large areas of Spain. For this reason, we activate Orange warnings for Monday (maximum temperatures between 39C and 42C) and Red (44C could be reached in Córdoba and Jaén).”
Giving a breakdown of the areas set to be impacted the most by the heat, it listed eastern and southern areas, which are very popular with Irish tourists.
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 western Mediterranean, which is beginning to affect the Balearic Islands.
“In the next few days, the westward movement of this ridge is expected to bring the very warm air mass closer to the east. east and south of the peninsula, which, together with the stability and high insolation characteristic of the time, will give rise to an episode of very high temperatures from Sunday the 9th and, especially, during next week. It is likely that the entry of the warm air mass will be accompanied by haze. The extent of the affected area is still uncertain.
“At this time, the areas with the highest, are the southern and southeastern thirds of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands are likely to suffer the episode of very high temperatures, without ruling out that it could spread to areas of the centre of the peninsula and the Ebro valley. Temperatures will rise in the coming days, and on Sunday it is likely that local temperatures will already exceed 40C in the Guadalquivir valley and points in eastern Andalusia, 38C in areas of the southern plateau, and 36C in the interior of the Balearic Islands and in the Ebro valley.
“Temperatures will continue to rise on Monday. This ascent will extend towards the interior of the peninsula, in such a way that maximum temperatures are expected above normal generalised for the time, exceeding 38C in large areas of the Peninsula and inland Majorca. It is probable that 40C will be exceeded locally in the southeast quadrant of the peninsula and points in the Ebro valley; while in the Guadalquivir valley they could 42C can already be exceeded on this day, without ruling out 44C.
“Temperatures will most likely remain very high through Tuesday. Besides, in the eastern peninsula they would continue to rise due to offshore winds, where it is not ruled out that they exceed 40-42C, including the island of Mallorca. On the other hand, in the valley of the Guadalquivir will continue to have very high temperatures, exceeding 42C.
“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, since in the following days the uncertainty increases. But the most likely scenarios point to a progressive weakening of the ridge, which would move towards the Mediterranean, favouring an entry of winds from the north that would cool the atmosphere in the northern half and the Balearic Islands.
“However, in the southern and eastern third of the peninsula, temperatures are likely to continue in very high values, without ruling out that in this area it will exceed 38C again, and that 42C can be reached again in the Guadalquivir valley.”
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.
