The swelteringly hot weather will continue over the next few days and will rise to 35C across much of the country between Thursday and Saturday, before finally subsiding on Sunday, according to Spain’s state meteorological agency AEMET.

AEMET spokesperson Rubén del Campo described the next few days as “the final firecracker” of the summer.

“We have endured very high temperatures without a break since the beginning of July,” he continued.  

Del Campo has indicated that the Mediterranean regions and the Balearic Islands on Friday and Saturday will be “especially hot”, possibly reaching 40C, and added that the nights will be hot too, with temperatures over 25C.

Cooler days from Sunday  

On Sunday the intense heat will give way and Spain will experience much cooler weather, according to AEMET predictions.

“As of Sunday we expect a change in the prevailing atmospheric conditions,” explained del Campo, who said that Spain will experience cooler surface air, which will cause a drop in temperatures “in most of the country”.  

Forecasts show that from Sunday there will be a thermal relief and thermometers will even record cooler values ​​than normal for this time of year in the west of the Peninsula.  

Storms have also been predicted following the “sharp drop” in temperatures, which will mostly be seen in the northeast of the country and in the Pyrenees.  

“It is likely that the temperature drop will continue during the first days of next week, with the arrival of successive troughs that will lead to rain,” Del Campo said.   

However, AEMET notes that the temperature drop will take longer to be noted in the southern and eastern parts of the country, as well as in the Balearic Islands, where the mercury will remain higher for longer.

Sea temperatures remain high 

Del Campo has warned that despite the cooling temperatures, the sea will remain much warmer than normal, particularly between the Balearic Islands and the Valencia region.

On August 9th the Puertos del Estado buoy in Valencia reached a record water temperature of 29.7C, one degree more than the previous thermal record, which was recorded in August 2015.