BRITANNIA DAILY
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BRitannia daily
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British families heading to Spain, Portugal and Morocco for their summer holidays this week have been warned to brace for a heatwave with highs of up to 46C (115F).
The Met Office said the peak would be this Wednesday when Madrid will reach 39C (102F) and Seville 43C (109F), while Lisbon will get up to 37C (99F).
But the hottest weather in the region will be in Marrakech which will hit 46C on the same day - although temperatures are set to ease by the end of this week.
Met Office senior operational meteorologist Marco Petagna urged visitors to 'take care' if travelling to the south-west Europe region over the coming days.
He added that temperatures in the high-20Cs and locally mid-30Cs were typical for the time of year - meaning that those this week are 10C or more above average.
Other global cities expected to hit at least 40C (104F) tomorrow include Baghdad in Iraq (46C), Riyadh in Saudi Arabia (44C) and Abu Dhabi in the UAE (40C).
Spain has already been experiencing very hot temperatures in recent days, with local authorities issuing health alerts and warning of a high risk of wildfires.
In Madrid, homeless people were bussed in from across the capital last week to take shelter in an air-conditioned centre with food, drinks and a washroom area.
Greece has been experiencing its second heatwave of the summer over the last week, which has brought forest fires and 43C (109F) temperatures.
Other countries affected by very hot weather this month include Italy, which put 14 cities under the highest level of alert.
And Croatia has seen a prolonged heatwave with 37C (99F) highs.
Meanwhile the state power company in Serbia reported record consumption last Tuesday because of increased use of air conditioning.
And wildfires have ripped through the popular Cascais coastal area of Portugal amid very dry and windy conditions.
Dramatic footage taken yesterday showed a 'major' wildfire spreading through the countryside, with more than a dozen firefighting aircraft and almost 400 firefighters worked to get the fire under control.
This morning, 156 firefighters remained at the site as the battle against the huge fire continued into what was said to be the final stages.
Meanwhile in Greece, dramatic footage shows how blazes are tearing through forests in various parts of the country, burning non-stop for days after being ignited by lightning strikes and fanned by strong winds.
In the northern mountainous area of Falakro, a wall of flames has been burning grassland for five days straight after lightning strikes ignited two areas, which then merged into a singular large front.
The fire is spreading quickly due to strong winds, Protothema reports, with fire service helicopters continuing to battle the blaze with water dumps amid fears it could spread out of control to residential areas.
Large areas of Europe have been hit by increasingly damaging forest fire seasons in recent years that experts say are driven by rising temperatures fuelled by climate change.
Last summer thousands of British tourists fled Rhodes on evacuation flights due to severe wildfires that swept across parts of the Greek island.
The extreme weather hasn't just been limited to heat either, with torrential rain and flash floods sweeping through much of Europe.
Cars have been swept away by flash floods in parts of France and the Netherlands over recent days, with streets turning into rivers and people being trapped in their homes and even hospitalised.
Severe storms have proven deadly in the mountains of Germany and Austria, where two young hikers, aged 18 and 22, died in separate incidents after being struck by lightning bolts. Warnings are in place as more stormy weather is expected today.
In France, more than 45,000 lightning strikes were recorded over the weekend, in what is thought to be the worst storm wave of the year.
An 'intense stormy episode' which began on Saturday night has led to 'significant' flooding in the north-eastern region of Haute-Marne.
Five people were reportedly admitted to hospital following a heavy storm, 'mainly for hypothermia', according to regional officials.
Huge hailstones were filmed falling in areas along France's south-eastern coastline and on the island of Corsica last night, with locals and visitors warned to exercise caution.
Flash floods have also ravaged parts of the country, with people being evacuated from their homes in the early hours of Sunday morning as roads were blocked and power was taken out.
In Britain, temperatures are expected to reach the mid-20Cs in some areas this week as the weather looks set to improve for the start of the summer holidays.
Rain and cloudy conditions were forecast across the UK today with some areas seeing showers which could be heavy, before spells of warm sunshine start to develop.
The mercury will reach 24C (75F) in South East England today ahead of drier and brighter weather tomorrow and Wednesday with sunny spells and highs of 26C (79F).
Another weather system will then move into Britain from the west for Thursday, bringing wet conditions to most of the country, before sunny spells and some showers on Friday.
The Met Office said UK temperatures on Thursday and Friday are expected to be nearer average, with highs of 23C (73F) in the South.
High pressure then looks likely to build during the weekend bringing some drier and more settled weather especially across southern areas and similar temperatures.
