British Tourists Warned As Heatwave Expected Across Southern Europe

Tourists across Southern Europe are being warned to 'remain vigilant' as a heatwave is expected to strike in the coming week.

Temperatures are expected to top 42 degrees celcius in Southern Spain, while Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Hungary will see the mercury rise towards 40°C.

European weather forecasters have categorised the heatwave as 'extreme heat' and released weather warnings for the affected areas, advising caution for those spending extended periods of time in the sun.

"Temperatures are expected to be around three to five degrees above normal for the time of year for eastern Spain this week, reaching around 35/36°C for the Balearic Islands," a spokesperson for The Weather Company told the Sun.

spanish beach

Credit: PA

British holidaymakers, particularly those in Ibiza, Mallorca and the Costa Brava, are being advised to stock up on water and stay in the shade.

Any extended period of time over or around 40°C can be considered a 'red code' heatwave and such dangerous occurrences have been declared in Romania, Croatia, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

While it is normal for sun-baked states such as Italy and Spain to have extremely high temperatures, it is far less common in countries such as Poland, Romania and Switzerland.

Croatia in particular has been affected, with the temperature last week at Split Airport on the country's Mediterranean coast registered at 42.3°C, just 0.5°C from their all-time record, set in 1981.

spanish beach

Credit: PA

Wildfires have been reported in the Balkan nation, while its southern neighbour, Albania, has asked for European Union assistance after a spate of wild fires in the mountainous Llogara National Park proved uncontrollable.

Tourists are being told not to travel for too long, for example on crowded buses or trains, and to keep an eye on localised weather warnings for the regions that they are in.

British travellers have been stung already this summer by long lines at airports and are currently advised to arrive as early as three hours before their flight is due to take off, in order to avoid long queues at airports and potentially missing their flights.

Back home, temperatures will be lower than on the continent and will remain around the yearly average. London will be 22°C on Friday before slumping slightly to 20°C with some showers at the weekend, while Manchester will be cooler still at 18°C.

Sources: Daily Mail, the Sun, Evening Standard

Topics: Europe, heatwave

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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