Temperatures soared above 41ºC in the southern half of the peninsula at the weekend and the heatwave will continue in the Balearics, the Canary Islands and the Peninsula for the next few days.
The mercury is 5ºC-10ºC above normal, but relief is on the way and according to the State Meteorological Agency, Aemet, it will cool down a little on Wednesday or Thursday.
Aemet Spokesperson, Fernando García confirmed highs of more than 40ºC in Extremadura and Andalusia and reached 41.9ºC at Badajoz-University Observatory; 40.8ºC in Seville; 40.4ºC in Plasencia and Córdoba.
“A "hot" dawn on Monday in coastal areas of the Mediterranean, Andalusia and Extremadura with temperatures 20ºC and tropical nights have made it difficult to sleep,” said García.
Lows of 22.7ºC were recorded in Jaén, 22.5ºC in Madrid-Retiro; 22.1ºC in Cáceres, 21.9ºC in Castellón and Barcelona, 21.4ºC in Badajoz and 21.1ºC in Toledo.
García says a powerful surface anticyclone in the Azores will extend over the Cantabrian coast and western Europe bringing low pressure and storms to the Peninsula.
It will be clear and dry in most of the country, but in the extreme north of the Peninsula it will be cloudy with the possibility of showers on the Cantabrian Coast, due to Atlantic front and rain is expected in the northern half of the country on Wednesday and Thursday.
Temperatures will be up to 10ºC higher than normal across most of the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
On Monday and Tuesday temperatures will drop in the northern third of the country, Cantabria, the upper and middle Ebro basin, but will recover later in the week.
On Tuesday the mercury will drop slightly in Catalonia.
On Wednesday and Thursday temperatures will drop slightly, but will rise in the northern third of the Peninsula.
In the Canary Islands it will be cloudy and very windy and in mountainous areas and partly sunny, partly cloudy elsewhere at the beginning of the week.
Yellow warnings for high temperatures were activated on Monday for the southern plateau and in the Tagus, Guadiana and Guadalquivir Valleys, orange warnings are in place for temperatures above 40ºC.
Yellow warnings have also been issued in the Ebro Valley for temperatures above 36ºC and winds gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour.
Another yellow warning has been issued for coastal winds in the high estuaries of Galicia and the Ampurdán.
In the Canary Islands temperatures are expected to reach 35ºC in most of the islands, except in the south of Gran Canaria, where an orange warning has been activated for highs of 37ºC.
Temperatures will remain very high in the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands on Tuesday and more hot weather warnings for the southern provinces of Castilla y León are likely.
On Wednesday temperatures are forecast to drop slightly in the south-west of the peninsula and on Thursday and Friday will be much cooler and closer to normal.