Spain to scorch in 40C heat surge as map shows hottest holiday hotspots

40C have sparked weather warnings in Spain for the coming week with areas loved by British tourists in the firing line. The Iberian Peninsula is forecast to experience the scorching conditions from Wednesday, May 28, onwards, with regions in the south and west most affected.

Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET), issued a warning on Sunday stating that there would be an "episode of high temperatures in the Peninsula". In a posting on X, it added: "High pressure and the subsequent arrival of a warm air mass will lead to full summer heat. Temperatures could exceed 40 ºC in parts of the southern half."

The arrival of temperatures more suited to later summer months will spark concern in the country, which has faced issues with water shortages in recent years because of long spells of excessively hot weather.

The region likely to hardest hit by high temperatures this week is Andalusia, which includes popular destinations for UK travellers such as Malaga, Marbella, Almeria and Seville. The average high for the Andalusian region is usually around 27C in May, but temperatures could be easily 10 degrees more in some places this week.

In a statement AEMET said there would be "progressively higher temperatures in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands".

It added: "The cause of this change in weather is the presence of a powerful anticyclone centered in the Azores and extending across the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, resulting in very stable weather, virtually clear skies, and high levels of sunshine.

"Starting Wednesday May 28, the presence of a low pressure zone between the Canary Islands and the Gulf of Cadiz is likely to induce a southerly wind that will carry a mass of warm, dry, dusty air of African origin, first over Andalusia and the Alboran Sea and later over the central peninsula. This will result in a further rise in temperatures, with summer values and, therefore, clearly higher than usual for this time of year.

"The most affected areas will be the southwest quadrant of the peninsula, the central zone, and the Ebro Valley.

"The peak days of this episode will likely be Thursday May 29 and Friday May 30, with maximum temperatures around 35°C in the northern plateau, 37°C in the Ebro and Tagus valleys, 39°C in the lower Guadiana, and 40-42°C in the Guadalquivir (the river valley around Seville)."

Neighbouring Portugal also looks likely to see hot weather, with the southern Algarve region most likely seeing temperatures into the mid to high 30s.