Spain is expected to face a wave of record-breaking heat, with forecasters warning that it could make parts of the country the hottest on the planet.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, during a recent press conference, Rubén del Campo, the spokesperson for Spain's national weather agency AEMET, said, "It will be the hottest weekend that we have so far had this summer....It will be a brief, but intense episode."
In a recent blog post, AEMET reported that temperatures in the Guadalquivir valley and the southwest of the southern plateau could exceed 40 degrees Celsius, or around 104 degrees Fahrenheit. In more northern areas of Spain, temperatures are expected to exceed 35 degrees Celsius.
"The highlight of this weekend is a heat episode that begins today Friday and will intensify until Sunday. Except for some cloudy intervals in the extreme north, the surroundings of the Strait and the north of the Canary Islands, slightly cloudy or clear skies will predominate," the blog post said.
During the press conference, del Campo added, "It is going to be a dramatic heat. They are extreme temperatures that even in the Guadalquivir valley, which is already very hot, are rarely reached."
According to El Pais, across Spain, temperatures are expected to be five to 10 degrees Celsius above average.
Jesús González Alemán, a researcher and meteorologist for AEMET said, "It will be really anomalous."
"Large parts of the peninsula will enter one of the hottest regions on the surface of the planet. It will be an extension of the traditional summer 'heat belt' that usually extends from Algeria to India," Alemán said, according to El Pais.
In response to the expected heat, AEMET has issued orange alerts for the areas of Tajo, Guadiana and Guadalquivir. An orange alert is the second-highest level issued by AEMET, but El Pais reported that the alert could upgraded to red if the high temperatures persist.
According to El Pais, in July 2017, record-breaking temperatures were recorded in Córdoba, as the thermostats in the city reached 46.9 degrees Celsius, or around 116 degrees Fahrenheit.
While Spain is expected to experience a wave of extreme heat during the upcoming weekend, the recent blog post from AEMET noted that temperatures are expected to lower by Tuesday.
"On Tuesday, there will be cloudy skies and precipitation in the far north, while it will remain slightly cloudy or clear in the rest. Temperatures will tend to recover in the west of the peninsula, but there will be a significant thermal decline in the Mediterranean area, which will end the heat episode," the blog post said.
Newsweek reached out to AEMET for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
