
© Cristina Quicler/AFP/Getty ImagesA tourist bus drives in Seville past a thermometer showing 45C.
Large parts of southern and western Europe are expected to experience high temperatures this weekend with forecasters warning that thermometers could reach up to 48C in Spain.
Holidaymakers bound for the Iberian peninsula have been warned to expect extreme heat, with the chance of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in continental Europe.
The current record of 48C in Athens, Greece, in 1977, could be broken as waves of blisteringly hot air sweep in from Africa.Temperatures around the Mediterranean are expected to rise and peak at the weekend, with the highs expected inland rather than in coastal areas, after edging into the low-40s on Wednesday and Thursday.
"These sorts of temperatures are not only exceptional for the locals but people from the UK will never really have experienced them," said Luke Miall, a UK Met Office meteorologist.
"Especially with it being the school holidays, and the
very young and old being susceptible to heatstroke, we're advising tourists to keep out of the midday sun and protect themselves."
Comment: Weather extremes are plaguing the entire planet - everything from record heat to record cold, hail, flooding, wildfires, etc. A few examples: