ANDALUCIA is bracing for temperatures above 40C on Tuesday as Spain’s second heatwave of the summer places much of the country under fresh weather and wildfire warnings.
Cordoba and Sevilla are expected to reach highs of 43C and 42C respectively, with state weather agency AEMET issuing orange alerts for both provinces.
Jaen and Granada are forecast to hit 42C and 40C, while Malaga and Almeria are set to swelter in a comparatively balmy 38C.
Valencia, Catalunya and Aragon will bear the brunt of the heatwave, with red alerts in place across large parts of all three regions.
Temperatures could climb to 44C in Valencia’s Carcaixent, AEMET said, while Tarragona, Lleida and Zaragoza are all forecast to reach a scorching 42C.
AEMET has also placed vast swathes of Spain under red wildfire warnings, signalling an ‘extreme’ fire risk, with the worst-affected areas concentrated in the east and west of the country.
The warnings come after a wildfire in Grazalema, near Cadiz, forced the evacuation of 188 people on Monday, with firefighters battling the blaze as flames approached homes and hotels.
A total of 92 residents were allowed to return to their homes after emergency crews brought part of the wildfire under control early on Tuesday.
The extreme weather follows AEMET’s warning that a new heatwave would sweep across Spain this week after a record-breaking June.
READ MORE: Spain logs more than 1,000 deaths linked to ‘extraordinarily’ high temperatures in June
Much of Europe sweltered under temperatures above 40C between June 21 and 24 as the summer’s first heatwave settled over Spain, France, Germany and the UK.
A shocking report estimated that 1,028 people died in Spain last month during what meteorologists described as an ‘extraordinarily high’ period of heat for June.
The grim toll makes it the deadliest June on record for heat-related deaths in Spain.
Click here to read more Weather News from The Olive Press.
