Europe about to be swallowed by 46°C heatwave sparking warning for British travellers
British families heading to Spain, Portugal and Morocco this week have been warned to brace themselves for a heatwave with highs of up to 46C.
The Met Office have said the peak of the summer heat would arrive on Wednesday, with Madrid reaching highs of 39C, Seville peaking at 43C and Lisbon at 37C.
Meanwhile, weather in Marrakesh will go even further with weather on the same day reaching highs of 46C.
Other global cities expected to hit at least 40C tomorrow include Baghdad, (46C), Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh (44C) and Abu Dhabi in the UAE (40C).
Met Office senior operational meteorologist Marco Petagna has urged visitors to ‘take care’ if travelling to the south-west Europe region over the coming days.
Spain has already been experiencing very hot temperatures in recent days, with local authorities issuing health alerts and warning of a high risk of wildfires.
In Madrid, homeless people were bussed in from across the capital last week to take shelter in an air-conditioned centre with food, drinks and a washroom area.
Greece has been experiencing its second heatwave of the summer over the last week, which has brought forest fires and 43C (109F) temperatures.
Holiday operators say anyone affected by the wildfires should follow the guidance of their hotels and local officials and alert them if they have been evacuated.
The UK Foreign Office does not currently advise against travelling to Greece but warns that ‘wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable’.
Kos mayor Theodosis Nikitaras said evacuees faced an ‘extremely difficult’ night, sharing a photograph of hundreds of people sleeping inside a football stadium in Antimachia on Facebook.
But as ‘another day dawned’, Nikitaras confirmed the once rapidly advancing fire is ‘now under control’. Guests are now ‘returning safely to their hotels’.
‘The efforts of all who operated during the night were superhuman,’ he said of firefighters and volunteers.
Other countries affected by very hot weather this month include Italy, which put 14 cities under the highest level of alert.
And Croatia has seen a prolonged heatwave with 37C (99F) highs.
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