New heat records for the season and temperatures of over 40 degrees have prompted Spanish authorities to issue warnings for “unusual and extreme temperatures”.
Dry and warm winds from Africa have caused the thermometers to rise more than 15 degrees above normal for May, which looks to be the warmest month of May this century.
Some places have already seen the records break, and more peak temperatures are expected to follow over the weekend, warns the country’s meteorological institute. It is believed to be warmest in Andalusia in the south, where an orange warning, the second highest, has been issued. Among other things, the elderly and the sick are warned. In other regions, including around Madrid, the lower yellow warning has been issued.