Scots face 118F hols hell
» Spain and Portugal on high alert as Saharan heatwave looms » Scots tourists warned to stay indoors and drink plenty of water
SCOTS tourists in Spain and Portugal have been warned to stay indoors as some forecasters predict a possible all-time high European temperature for the weekend.
Spain is on high alert as weather chiefs warn that mercury could rise to 48C (118F) due to a hot air mass moving northwards from Africa.
But a weather map from forecasters GFS shows temperatures of 50C for parts of southern Portugal.
The unbearable temperatures from the Sahara desert could top the 48C European record set back in 1977.
Eight provinces in the south Andalusia region and areas around Madrid will be hit first by the heatwave starting today, according to Spain’s Meteorological Agency.
Spanish authorities are warning holidaymakers against going outdoors during peak hours of the day, to drink plenty of water and keep houses and vehicles as cool as possible.
At least another 27 of Spain’s 50 provinces have been declared an “extreme risk” as temperatures look set to begin soaring rapidly.
The advice from the Met Office to Scots in Spain and Portugal is to find shade in the mid-day hours and regularly apply high-factor sunscreen. Anyone who particularly suffers in the heat should avoid inland areas and head to the coast, where conditions are fresher, with a cooler onshore breeze.
Met Office forecaster Richard Miles said: “With 48C expected in Iberia, highs are likely to beat records. Tourists in Spain and Portugal clearly need to take care in such high temperatures.
“Continental heat will move up to Britain from the south. The low 30s are possible from Friday to Sunday.
“The south and east will be hottest and it will be a warm weekend for most, although cooler in the north.”
This particular heatwave is due to “a plume of very dry, hot air from Africa”.
Some forecasters, including Carlow Weather reckon areas in Portugal could hit 50C – which would be the hottest ever recorded in Europe.
Forecaster Alan O’Reilly tweeted: “That European all-time high temp is still under threat this weekend in Portugal.
“First chart from ARPEGE shows up to 47C on Saturday and second chart from GFS shows up to 50C.”
Britain is expected to be struck by the extreme conditions from Friday, with weekend temperatures likely to hit and exceed 36C, smashing last week’s record of 35.3C.
However, Scotland will miss out on the extreme heat, with temperatures likely to peak at about 25C. Yesterday, bookmakers Coral cut odds on the hottest August ever to 5/4, with a spokesman aptly describing the current heatwave as a “never-ending summer.” The intense heat across Europe is down to hot African air blowing northwards, and is likely to smash Europe’s all-time temperature records within days. The current record was set on July 10, 1977 in Athens, when the temperature reached 48.0C.
Spain’s record is 47.3C, set in 2017 while Portugal’s is 47.4C, set in 2003.
Temperatures across southern France are also set to soar, with highs of around 40C expected within days.
Saturday is forecast to be Europe’s hottest day of the week and the Met Office has said that conditions on the Iberian peninsula “could beat the all-time continental European record of 48C”, with unusually high temperatures likely to extend into south-west France.
“The temperatures we are currently experiencing may not yet be the ‘new normal’, but within a few decades they could be,” Met Office chief scientist Stephen Belcher said in a recent blog on the site.
His team is currently carrying out a detailed analysis of the heatwave and its connection to climate change, with findings to be published later this year.
Tourists in Spain and Portugal clearly need to take care in such high temperatures MET OFFICE FORECASTER YESTERDAY