Extreme heat will become a frequent event. Weathermen say heatwaves have doubled in last 10 years

SPAIN’S weather experts warn periods of extreme heat will become more intense and more frequent in the future because of climate change.

As the country braces itself for the first heatwave of the summer – affecting the Balearic Islands and almost all of the Iberian Peninsula – predicted temperatures could reach 45 degrees Celsius in Andalusia and a minimum of between 26 and 28 degrees in a number of parts of the country.

According to weather agency Aemet, the mercury will rise between 5 and 10 degrees above average and are “unusual for this time of year” – all though forecasts are difficult because of the amount of dust currently suspended in the air.

Soaring temperatures come three days after the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a long-awaited report concluding human activity had warmed the planet – triggering the proliferation of episodes of extreme weather.

And Aemet spokesman Rubén del Campo said the number of heatwaves experience in Spain had doubled in the last 10 years.

“Human activity is increasing heatwaves in frequency and intensity. In 30 years’ time, a summer like this will be considered cool,” he warned.