Sweltering heat arrives in south of Spain with temperatures up to 41C in these areas this week

Summer has arrived early in the Andalucía region in the south of Spain. All of a sudden and without warning. At the weekend, large parts of the country saw temperatures in the 30C plus range and it was just an appetiser of what is to come. "From Tuesday onwards and for several days, temperatures are likely to rise again throughout Spain, a situation that will continue at least until Thursday", said a spokesperson for state weather agency Aemet.

The specialised portal Meteored agrees: "The cool and stormy dynamic of the last few months will be definitively broken in the next few days. The subtropical ridge will gain strength from the south of the Spanish mainland, bringing with it a general increase in temperatures. By the end of the week, we could see highs in the middle of the canicular summer due to low air renewal and strong daytime sunshine," it said. According to the portal's experts, the mercury will move from the middle of the week between 36 and 38C in the provinces of Seville, Cordoba and Jaén, with values close to 39C. "These are already mid-summer values, some 5 to 10 degrees higher than normal for the time of year in a large part of the region", Aemet stressed. According to its forecast, it could reach 41C in Seville and 40 degrees in Cordoba between Thursday and Friday.

It will not only be hot during the day... but when the sun goes down too. In climatology, the so-called "tropical nights" are those in which the minimum temperatures do not drop below 20C and they will also return this week to Andalucía. As eltiempo.es warns, the summer heat will also be felt in the early hours of the morning. According to the Aemet forecast, in the provinces of Seville, Malaga, Jaen, Almeria and Cadiz the mercury will not drop below 20-22 degrees. "The warmest nights are expected in the second half of the week, with minimum temperatures of 22 to 24C in the provinces of Huelva, Seville, Cordoba and Jaen," Meteored forecasts.

How long will this early summer last? Meteored warns that high pressure will remain over Spain for a prolonged period of time. "According to the forecasts of our reference model, the month of June will be warmer than normal in a large part of the country. Later on, there could be some ups and downs, in the form of an episode of storms, but these will be short-lived, so a dry and warm start to the summer is expected".