Spain braces for heatwave: up to 44ºC before Tuesday ends

Spain’s state weather agency has issued orange alerts for much of the country as a second heatwave hits, with highs of 42–44 °C expected until Tuesday. On Friday the State Meteorological Agency issued a warning for the arrival of the second heatwave of the summer of 2026, a weather episode that starts this Sunday and will bring temperatures of up to 42ºC in river valleys in the south-west of the mainland, and is expected to last at least until Tuesday. According to the agency’s own data, on Monday temperatures are forecast to reach 38–40ºC in the Minho valley and 37–39ºC in the interior of A Coruña, while in the south-western quadrant maximums of 39–41ºC will be widespread, rising to 42ºC in river valleys, with temperatures of 37–40ºC on the southern plateau, in the Ebro valley and in north-eastern depressions. Contrary to what might be thought, the peak of the episode will not arrive on Tuesday. According to AEMET, Monday 6 will be the harshest day of the period, with further rises in temperatures in the eastern Cantabrian area that will also spread, to a lesser extent, to the Ebro valley, the northern plateau and the eastern third of the mainland, with temperatures possibly reaching 44ºC on Tuesday which would complicate the Bisbal d'Empordá wildfire, while in western Galicia the arrival of maritime air will begin to be felt, bringing temperatures down along the coast. For Wednesday, with greater uncertainty because of the possible influence of a “dana”, an isolated upper-level depression, the most likely scenario points to values remaining above 39–40ºC in the south-west, on the southern plateau, in the Ebro valley and in inland areas of the south-east, before temperatures start to fall from Thursday onwards. Where the risk is concentrated: from the southern mainland to the Canary Islands The most intense focus remains in Andalusia. On Saturday AEMET activated an orange heatwave alert in Seville, Huelva and Jaén, and a yellow alert in Cádiz and Granada, with temperatures likely to reach 40 degrees in several districts, while Almería was for the moment outside these warnings. Added to this, along the Cádiz coastline there is a yellow alert for gusts of Levante wind that call for extra caution in the Strait of Gibraltar. The agency’s special notice describes a broad map: the south-western quadrant of the mainland, the Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys, the Ebro valley and north-eastern depressions concentrate the highest risk, although the phenomenon also affects inland Galicia, the southern plateau, the eastern Cantabrian coast and the Balearic Islands, where highs of between 36ºC and 38ºC are expected in Mallorca. The Canary Islands, which are usually spared the worst mainland episodes, are not this time. The General Directorate of Emergencies of the Canary Islands government has declared an alert for risk of forest fires in Gran Canaria and Tenerife from this Sunday, in view of a spell of high temperatures that will last for several days, and by Tuesday the entire eastern province will move to orange alert, while the rest of the islands will remain on yellow. Across the country there is still no final count of provinces by alert level for the three days, as AEMET’s map is updated dynamically as models evolve; what has been confirmed so far is an orange alert in the south-western mainland, the Ebro valley and the eastern Canaries, and a yellow alert in a wider belt surrounding these areas. Health, wildfires and the backdrop of a summer already marked by heat This is not the first heatwave of the summer, and the impact of earlier episodes weighs on the debate about the current risk. Just a few days after the first heatwave, which according to the MoMo monitoring system of the Ministry of Health is estimated to have caused nearly 900 deaths in June, began to ease, AEMET was already warning of the arrival of this second episode. For an episode to be formally classified as a heatwave, temperatures have to exceed the 95th percentile by an extreme margin, the event must last at least three days and affect more than 10% of the territory, three conditions that current calculations consider very likely to be met. The risk is not confined to daylight hours. Minimum temperatures over the coming days will hover around 20–26ºC, with peaks of 27–28ºC, meaning tropical nights for much of the country and making it hard to get any rest in the worst-affected areas, a factor that public health specialists regard as just as relevant as the peak daytime highs. Added to this is the wildfire risk: in Andalusia the INFOCA plan remains active at pre-alert level, and in the Canary Islands the declaration of forest-fire risk now accompanies the heat warning. The usual recommendations in the face of these high temperatures: - Avoid exposure to the sun during the middle of the day. - Stay well hydrated. - Do not undertake intense physical exercise outdoors. - Pay particular attention to older people, children and those with chronic illnesses, which takes on added importance in an episode expected to be long and with nights offering little respite. It is also advisable to consult the updated warnings on aemet.es (source in Spanish), as the forecasts for Tuesday and Wednesday still carry some uncertainty.