Heatwave grips Spain as UK readies for soaring temperatures
Spain and Portugal were sweltering in their second heat wave in a month on Monday, with scorching temperatures also expected in France and Britain in the coming days.
The mercury meanwhile hit 42.4C in the southern city of Seville.
The southwestern cities of Badajoz and Merida also saw temperatures of 42C.
"This heatwave really has the potential to be exceptional," said AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo.
The current temperature surge began Sunday and could "last nine or ten days, which would make it one of the three longest heat waves Spain has seen since 1975," he said.
June had already seen Spain grapple with temperatures above 40C in swathes of the country.
The previous month was Spain's hottest May since the beginning of the century.
In August 2021 Spain recorded its highest ever temperature when the mercury reached 47.4C in the small southern town of Montoro.
Meteorologists did not rule out the prospect of that record being broken in the coming days.
The heightened temperatures have been accompanied by a lack of rainfall.
In neighbouring Portugal temperatures topped 44C over the weekend, fuelling wildfires and vast smoke clouds which were visible in the capital Lisbon.
Firefighters brought the largest blaze under control on Monday after it had burned through swathes of the central municipality of Ourem, local officials said.
