Malaga is bracing for a blast of the notorious ‘terral’ wind on Thursday as temperatures are expected to soar to 39C.
State weather agency Aemet has issued a yellow weather warning for the Guadalhorce Valley and the western Costa del Sol, including Malaga city, between 1pm and 9pm.
Forecasters say the arrival of the hot, dry terral wind will push temperatures up to 37C across much of the area, with highs of 39C possible inland around Cartama, Alora, Almogia and Coin.
A separate yellow warning has also been issued for the Axarquia, where temperatures are expected to reach 36C during the same period.
The alert comes after the heatwave spread across Malaga province this week, with warnings already in force for the inland areas of Ronda and Antequera.
On Wednesday, those areas remained under a yellow alert from 1pm until 9pm, with temperatures forecast to reach 38C, rising to 39C in municipalities including Fuente de Piedra, Alameda and Villanueva de Algaidas.
Meanwhile, coastal areas are expected to be slightly cooler, with highs of around 30C in Marbella and Fuengirola and 33C in Malaga city on Wednesday, before the terral arrives on Thursday.
The heatwave has already pushed temperatures above 43C elsewhere in Andalucia this week, with the highest reading recorded in Montoro (Cordoba) at 43.4C.
In Malaga province, the hottest temperatures on Tuesday were recorded in Fuente de Piedra (37.9C), Coin (37.5C) and Alpandeire (37.2C).
Although the hot air mass is expected to begin moving away from Andalucia on Thursday, the arrival of the terral means Malaga province is likely to experience one of its hottest days of the week.
