Spain’s heatwave intensifies with red alert in Basque Country and 42°C highs forecast
A new surge of hot air from the south pushes temperatures to extreme levels across the peninsula and Balearic Islands, placing 14 regions under heat warnings and triggering a red alert in the Basque Country.
Widespread warnings
Fourteen Spanish regions are under heat warnings on Monday, 22 June, with the Basque Country under a red alert, the highest level, from 13:00 to 20:00. The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued orange alerts for Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castile and León, Castilla–La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, the Community of Madrid, Navarre and La Rioja. Yellow warnings for heat are active in Asturias, Galicia and the Valencian Community, while storm warnings are in place for Asturias, Cantabria and Castilla–La Mancha. Maximum temperatures are expected to hit 40 to 42 degrees Celsius in the valleys of the Ebro, Tagus, Guadiana and Guadalquivir, with localised spots possibly exceeding 42 degrees.
- Guadalajara breaks its June heat record, reaching 38.8°C at 15:30 local time.
- Basque emergency services attend 25 people due to high temperatures.
- Red alert for extreme heat activates in the Basque Country, with temperatures expected between 40 and 42°C.
- 14 regions remain under heat warnings; tropical nights forecast for large parts of Spain.
Record-breaking start
The first heatwave of the summer has already set a new temperature record. Guadalajara became the first provincial capital to surpass its all-time June high, reaching 38.8 degrees Celsius at 15:30 on Sunday, eclipsing the previous record of 38.5 degrees set in June 1981. Aemet anticipates further rises over the coming days.
Basque Country emergency
Emergency services in the Basque Country attended 25 people on Sunday for heat-related conditions, with patients aged between 16 and 94 years. Eight were treated on site and discharged, while 17 were taken by ambulance to primary care centres or hospitals, all with mild symptoms. By province, 21 cases were recorded in Biscay, four in Gipuzkoa and none in Álava. On Monday the Basque meteorology agency, Euskalmet, forecasts oppressive heat with maximums of 35 to 40 degrees Celsius across much of the territory; coastal areas, especially in the west, may see some relief from a north-westerly wind.
- Bayonne
- 35 °C
- Bilbao
- 40 °C
- Donostia-San Sebastián
- 38 °C
- Vitoria-Gasteiz
- 40 °C
- Pamplona-Iruña
- 40 °C
Forecast for Monday
Temperatures will continue to climb in the north-east quadrant and along the Cantabrian coast, where rises in maximums could be locally extraordinary. Values of 34–36 degrees are expected in inland Galicia, the northern plateau and the Balearic Islands, while 38–40 degrees will spread across the south-west quadrant and eastern Cantabrian areas. The northern plateau will see 37–39 degrees, and the southern plateau, south-eastern inland areas and the Balearic Islands will reach 37–40 degrees. Tropical nights, with minimums above 20 degrees, and in some spots sultry nights above 25 degrees, are forecast for parts of the central-south, south-west, the Ebro valley, the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean coasts. Scattered showers with thunderstorms may develop overnight off the Atlantic coasts of Galicia and during the afternoon over central inland areas.
