Irish holidaymakers heading to Spain in the coming days are being warned to prepare for extreme heat.
Parts of the country recorded abnormally high temperatures already this week, with a record 38.7C reached at Cordoba Airport in Andalusia on Thursday.
Forecasters say thermometers could hit 40C this week as a mass of very hot air from north Africa travels across the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic islands.
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Both locals and tourists are being urged to take extra care, with the Government reminding everyone to stay hydrated and make regular checks on babies, children and older people.
Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET said the exceptional warmth is expected to continue until at least Sunday and has listed the holiday hotspots set to be most affected.
In an update, the forecaster said: “High temperatures are likely to continue through Friday ascending in the eastern half of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. In this way, they will continue above the 36/38C in the Guadalquivir valley and 32/34C in the southern half of the peninsula, and it is likely that exceed 30/32C in the Ebro valley and inland Mallorca.
“Minimum temperatures will also be abnormally high throughout the country, especially during the early hours of Thursday to Saturday in Andalusia, where locally there could be nights tropical, without going below 20C.
“Although with increasing uncertainty due to the range of the prediction, it is most likely that the Saturday the 29th a notable thermal decrease begins, due to the entry of a more humid and cool in the west of the Peninsula, although the temperatures would still continue rising in the extreme east of the peninsula and in the Balearic Islands, still exceeding 30C in numerous points of the southern half, the Ebro valley and the interior of Mallorca.
“On Sunday the 30th the thermal decrease would reach the eastern half and the Balearic Islands, thus ending this episode of temperatures unusually high for the time of year.”
There is the potential for the warm plume affecting Spain to travel up through the continent, possibly reaching Ireland.
Irish weather expert Alan O’Reilly has said milder air is forecast to push up into Ireland next week.
In an update on his popular Carlow Weather social media accounts he said: “Spain actually hit 38.7C at Cordoba Airport on Thursday. The heat will ease off a little there now but warmer air will push up again next week and we will see milder air too with temps up to high teens tomorrow and over the weekend and possibly even 20C next week.”
Met Eireann also said temperatures will be above average next week.
It said: "Ireland is signalled to be in a mild southerly airflow from April 28 to May 4 with low pressure dominant in the Atlantic and high pressure closer to Ireland in the East. Temperatures will be above average for early May by 2C or 3C . Overall this week it will be likely be drier than normal for most areas, with rainfall amounts in the north signalled to be around average."
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