Brits warned of ‘44C heatwave’ in Spain ahead of school holidays

A ‘special notice’ for a heatwave in Spain has been issued by the country’s weather agency Aemet with highs of up to 44C forecast in certain areas. The warning comes as thousands of Brits jet off on holiday when the schools break up this weekend.

Yellow and amber weather warnings are in place for huge swathes of the country in the coming days, with popular holiday destinations including Alicante, Majorca and Barcelona all covered by warnings. Aemet said that the heatwave is due to ‘a large anticyclone’ which is moving from Algeria and intensifying over the coming days ‘introducing a very warm, dry air mass over the Peninsula and the Balearic islands'.

It warned that the hot air, combined with the intense summer sun “will cause a general rise and progressive temperatures in much of the peninsular area.” Aemet added: “Temperatures will reach very high values, higher than usual for these dates, except in the northwest of the peninsula and especially in the Cantabrian area, where there will be a cooler Atlantic flow.”

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Forecasting for Thursday, July 18, Aemet said: “38C will be exceeded quite generally, reaching 40-42C in areas of the Guadiana, Tajo and Ebro valleys; and even 42-44C in the valley of the Guadalquivir. The peak day of this episode will be Friday the 19th, when the highest values at 40C they can occur more extensively in the aforementioned areas.

“On the plateau north and in the Balearic Islands, especially in the interior of Mallorca, although the criteria for heat wave, high temperatures are expected, reaching 36-38C.” Meteorologists also warned of ‘suspended dust’ contained within the air mass.

Predicting the weather for Saturday,