Fourth heatwave of summer in Andalucía: Spain's Met Office forecasts highs of around 40C until the weekend

The fourth heatwave of summer in Spain, which began on Sunday 20 August and will last until at least Thursday 24 August, will continue to make the mercury climb in much of the country, especially in the north-eastern corner of the mainland and in the basins of the main rivers. However, in the Andalucía region, the high temperatures could even last a little longer, until Saturday or Sunday, according to the weather forecast.

The spokesperson for state weather agency Aemet in Andalucía, Juan de Dios del Pino predicts that high temperatures with values around 40 degrees in the Guadalquivir Valley will last until the weekend, when the arrival of an Atlantic anticyclone will cause a "significant drop in thermometers of up to ten degrees between Saturday and Sunday throughout the region. According to Del Pino, we are now in the fifth episode of high temperatures this summer and the fourth heat wave that "is mainly due to solar heating".

According to the Aemet forecast, amber (significant risk) and yellow (risk) warnings will be activated this week in several provinces in the Andalusian region due to high temperatures. On Tuesday and Wednesday, highs of between 40-41C could be recorded.

This Tuesday , there will be an amber orange in Huelva, Seville, Cordoba and Jaen provinces, while Granada, Almeria and Cadiz will be painted yellow on the weather map, due to heat and coastal phenomena on the coast of Cadiz. On Wednesday the amber warnings will continue (in Huelva, the countryside of Seville and Cordoba and the Guadalquivir Valley of Jaen provinces) and yellow (Almeria, Cadiz and Granada) in all Andalusian provinces except Malaga.

At the national level, the fourth heatwave will also bring very high minimum temperatures during the episode, with tropical nights, above 20C, and even above 23-25 degrees, in parts of the central areas, Ebro valley and Mediterranean area, "with a strong feeling of hot weather in coastal areas due to the high humidity".