Spain’s State Meteorological Agency has set out the timetable: temperatures will start climbing this Saturday, intensify from Tuesday 22 and, according to current forecasts, are unlikely to ease before at least Thursday 23 July.
The agency does not rule out Monday itself being added to the official heatwave period if the data confirm it. It would be the third heatwave so far this summer in Spain.
The phenomenon, Aemet explains, is the result of an atmospheric blocking pattern reinforced by the presence of a cut-off low to the west of the peninsula. That combination is allowing a mass of warm, dry air from North Africa, laden with suspended dust, to settle over much of Spain and the Balearic Islands.
The outcome will be a gradual rise in temperatures, peaking on Thursday, with readings that could locally nudge or exceed 45°C in the south-eastern third of mainland Spain.
Andalusia, the Ebro valley, the north-eastern depressions, the Genil basin and the interior of Mallorca will register the highest figures, with maximums above 40°C in several areas for several consecutive days.
