‘It’s terrifying’: Spain braces for worst of heatwave

Residents are doing everything they can to try and keep cool – staying inside, staying hydrated and leaving dog walks until late so paws don’t get burnt. Graham Keeley reports from Madrid

Tourists try and withstand the heat in Madrid (Juan Medina/Reuters)

For Kinvara Vaughan, the prospect of record temperatures hitting the Mediterranean from Tuesday fills her with dread.

“I saw the headline: heat storm heading for Europe this week. It is terrifying. We are doing a spectacular job destroying the planet,” she says from her home in Marbella, southern Spain.

Parts of southern Europe could hit its hottest ever temperature on Italy’s islands of Sicily and Sardinia, where a high of 48C (118F) is predicted, according to the European Space Agency. Spain's Aemet weather agency said the heatwave this week “will affect a large part of the countries bordering the Mediterranean” with temperatures in some southern areas of Spain exceeding 42C, according to the World Meteorological Organisation