Brit tourists warned as Spain issues rare AMBER alert in holiday hotspots

Holidaymakers heading to Spain have been issued a warning ahead of an 'extreme' heatwave expected to hit the country this week.

Highs of 42C are forecast in the next few days, leading the national forecaster to raise a series of yellow and amber alerts. Spain's Met Office, Aemet, has put in place weather warnings affecting all mainland areas, except for the northern region of Cantabria.

The warning came into effect two days ago, and will last until at least Sunday. Temperatures could exceed 38C across the southwest and south of Galicia this week, reaching 40-42C in the valleys of the Guadiana, Guadalquivir, and Tagus, according to AEMET. It follows anotherwarning to Brit tourists planning all-inclusive holidays to Spain.

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Towards the weekend, temperatures "close to 40C will again be recorded around the main low-lying areas of the southwest of the peninsula, with temperatures likely exceeding 42C around the Guadiana and Guadalquivir rivers", the AEMET alert adds.

British tourists can expect "abnormally warm temperatures" to continue during sleeping hours, with temperatures not expected to drop below 23-25C all week in areas of the central and southern peninsula, as well as along the Mediterranean coast.

A number of popular destinations, including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, and Zaragoza, are covered by the warning.

Weather maps from WXCharts for August 6-8 show much of the country covered by a wall of dark red, with Seville, Cordoba and Granada will all seeing the mercury hover between a sweltering 40C-41C, according to the maps. Elsewhere, Badajoz, a city in southwest Spain, will experience highs of 39C.

Temperatures will drop slightly by Friday in many areas, though maximum temperatures of 38C are forecast in Madrid and large parts of Andalusia.

A "mass of warm, dry air from the African continent" is causing the hotter-than-usual conditions, AEMET forecasters say.

It comes after Spain recorded one of its worst-ever months for heat-related illnesses in July, with 1,060 deaths attributed to high temperatures.

Back in Britain, temperatures are set to climb once again towards the weekend after a wet and windy start to August, with highs of 28C forecast in areas to the south on Saturday.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said in a new forecast: "Temperatures are going to be above average, and in some cases significantly above average, as we go into next week."

"We could have some hot weather at times", he added, though "heavy and perhaps thundery rain" is likely in the north on Monday and Tuesday.