Spain's national weather agency is warning more extreme heat could be on the way this weekend, with temperatures of up to 42ºC possible in parts of the country.
AEMET said warm air masses are set to sweep over Spain in the coming days and that a second heatwave could not be ruled out.
Extremadura and Andalusia are under orange heat alerts, with temperatures of 40ºC to 42ºC expected, while yellow alerts have been activated along the banks of the Ebro, in the Lleida Pyrenees, and in the south of Gran Canaria.
The Canary Islands will see temperatures of around 36ºC in the western islands and 38ºC in the eastern ones. In the north of Spain, the hot spell will be felt mainly on Saturday and Sunday.
The underlying cause is a build-up of extreme heat in the lower atmosphere to the west of the Iberian Peninsula, where a new heat dome is forming over unusually warm Atlantic waters. That dome is expected to drive the hot conditions over the next few days.
