Spanish heatwave ‘worst in 20 years’ as holidaymakers urged to avoid alcohol

Spain’s department of health has warned people to stay indoors as much as possible, drink plenty of water and to avoid exercise during the hottest part of the day

Tue, 14 Jun, 2022 - 14:35

Rebecca Laffan

Holidaymakers have been warned to prepare for a Spanish heatwave as a mass of hot air from North Africa sweeps over the country.

Regions of Spain under a status orange temperature warning are Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Madrid and Catalonia, where temperatures upwards of 40C have been recorded.

Elsewhere, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Galicia, Murcia, Navarra, the Basque Country, La Rioja and the Valencian community are under a status yellow warning.

Spain’s department of health has warned people to stay indoors as much as possible and to avoid exercise during the hottest part of the day. People are also urged to drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol.

The heatwave, the result of the anti-cyclone Alex and a mass of very hot air over north Africa, is expected to last at least until next Tuesday and is the third earliest on record.

A man refreshes himself with water in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday Picture: AP Photo/Paul White

It’s also the "most intense for mid-June in at least the last 20 years," according to Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for Spain’s state agency for Meteorology (Aemet).

It follows the hottest May on record, with temperatures last month three degrees above average, while last year was Spain’s hottest and driest on record, with temperatures hitting an all-time high of 47.4C in Montoro in the southern province of Córdoba.

The Canary Islands and Asturias are the only regions that currently haven’t been issued with similar warnings.

The heatwave, the result of the anti-cyclone Alex and a mass of very hot air over north Africa, is the third earliest on record.

On Tuesday, temperatures in the north and southeast of the peninsula and in the Balearic Islands have continued to rise, with regions of the Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys seeing temperatures of or above 43C for the third day in a row.

While temperatures are set to drop slightly in the south on Wednesday, the heat will intensify in the centre and in the north, affecting mainland Spain and islands of Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza among the rest of the Balaeric Islands.

France has also been affected by unusually elevated temperatures for this time of year, with temperatures set to increase mid-week through to the weekend.

“We are expecting very high, unprecedented temperatures so early in the season," said Sébastien Léas, forecaster at Météo-France, adding the phenomenon was still subject to “strong uncertainties in terms of intensity and location of the hottest episodes”.

On Monday, it reached 36.2C in the shade in Marseille, with similar temperatures recorded in Montpellier and Perpignan.

Between Thursday and Saturday, the thermometer could reach between 35C and 39C in the south — from the south-west to the south-east going up to Lyonnais — with peaks at 40C.