By Vincent West
BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) – A fourth summer heat wave has hit Spain in recent days, with northern regions of the country sweltering in abnormally high temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
Temperatures soared over the weekend across Spain, but especially in the traditionally colder area north of the Cantabrian Sea, triggering “extreme risk” warnings in the regions of Cantabria and the Basque Country, meteorological service AEMET said.
People wore hats and cooled off with fans in Bilbao, in the Basque Country, one of the worst-affected cities. “It’s very hot, you can’t just stay on the streets, or on the beach,” Josefa Castillo told Reuters.
Patrick Heremans, a Belgian tourist, was shocked by the heat: “We are not used to this type of temperature, but we are going to the museum today, where there is air conditioning”, he said.
The Spanish Ministry of Health recommended that people drink water, protect themselves from the sun and pay special attention to young people and the elderly.
According to the Spanish meteorological service, temperatures should start to drop on Monday.
(Reporting by Vincent West; writing by Ana Cantero; editing by Ros Russell)
