Friday 20 May 2022 04:01 PM Spain braces for 'unheard of' 107F May heatwave of 'extraordinary intensity' trends now

Spain is bracing itself for a heatwave unheard of in late spring as a column of Saharan air brings with it temperatures of 107F (42C), red dust clouds, and an extreme risk of wildfires. 

Spain's state meteorological agency, Aemet, put the cause of the extreme heat wave on a wall of hot and dry air coming up from Africa, bringing to Spain and southern Europe 'one of the hottest Mays in this country in recent years'.    

Aemet said it had activated its national plan for excess temperatures two weeks early on Thursday as 'the summer is starting in the spring'. 

Normally the plan is activated between June and September, but the period for temperatures 'in the 30s' (86F plus) had 'arrived 20 - 40 days early'. 

'The last updates to the meteorological models confirm the extraordinary intensity of this heatwave,' said Rubén del Campo, a spokesperson for Aemet, who predicts daily temperatures between 50F (10C) and 59F (15C) above the seasonal average. 

'For Spain as a whole, it could be the most intense May heatwave of the past 20 years in terms of both the maximum and minimum temperatures. 

Friday and Saturday will be the hottest days in general terms and, although there will be an important drop in temperatures on Sunday across the western third of the peninsula, that could be the hottest day in

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