Weather & Science

Spain to Bake in Summer-Like Heat as Europe Braces for Hot Spring

Parts of Spain are forecast to hit 40C, with the year’s first heat wave arriving a month earlier than in 2022.

A visitor cools themselves off at a water fountain at Ciutadella Park in Barcelona, in August 2022.Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg
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Spring in Spain will resemble the middle of the summer this week as thermometers rise above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) and some regions are forecast to hit 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

A mass of exceptionally hot air moving northward from Africa will cause temperatures to start rising in the Iberian Peninsula on April 25 and 26, with the episode peaking on April 27 and 28, Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet said on Sunday. The high temperatures, together with low humidity and winds of over 30 kilometers per hour (18.6 miles per hour) will put most of the country under high risk of wildfires, the agency said.