Madrid, August 24 (EFE).- The heat wave that has rocked Spain since Sunday is saying goodbye tomorrow, with the Atlantic front linked to Hurricane Betty and a “sharp” temperature drop in the north, although this Thursday is still happening. keeping the whole country on alert, in red Asturias, La Rioja and Navarra, with a temperature of 42 degrees and extreme risk.

Despite the influence of the storm, which previously battered Ireland and parts of the UK with torrential rains, temperatures in the south, northeast and islands of the Iberian Peninsula will continue to increase significantly even tomorrow, according to forecasts from the storm. State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).

The heat wave will end tomorrow with a sudden change in weather, spokesperson for Aemet José Luis Camacho said today.

Camacho has asked the public to pay attention to weather bulletins and warnings in the coming days as the sudden change in temperature “may be related to a high-impact phenomenon: a significant drop in temperature, heavy rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusts of wind in some areas”.

Yesterday was the hottest summer day in Spain and the current heat wave is the most intense and prolonged in 2023, according to Aemet.

With recent temperatures above 40 degrees across most of the north and especially the Basque Country, with an even value of 42 degrees, the predictions for Friday put maximum temperatures in cities like Bilbao and San Sebastián at 25 and 24 degrees, respectively. respectively.

Despite this, the rest of the country is still on high alert at this time, especially Ribera del Ebro in Zaragoza and Navarra, which are at red levels, as temperatures sometimes reach 42 degrees.

Seven other communities are still at significant risk levels, in orange, as temperatures were recorded over 40 degrees, mainly in the northeast, central zone, and southwestern parts of the peninsula, and many other communities in yellow, with slightly more risk lower than before.

With record-breaking temperatures affecting health, results of an autopsy conducted by the Alicante Institute of Forensic Anatomy are still pending whether the 28-year-old man’s death last Tuesday was caused by heatstroke.

The young man collapsed and died while on a hiking trail around the l’Infern gorge, in La Vall d’Ebo (Alicante), in the east of the peninsula.

In addition, a total of 48 people have been assisted by the Osakidetza Emergency Services in Euskadi (north) in the last few hours due to conditions related to high temperatures, 29 of whom have been transferred to different hospitals.

As reported by the Basque Health Department on Thursday this week, the health service will be held from Wednesday until nine o’clock this Thursday morning.

Yesterday, Wednesday, on the fourth day in a row of this heatwave, the fourth day of summer, with very hot values, more than 150 Aemet stations exceeded 40 degrees, according to meteorological authorities.

The highest maximum temperatures were recorded in the north of the peninsula: up to 44.1 degrees at Miranda de Ebro (Burgos), and 44 degrees at Bilbao airport, according to provisional data from Aemet.

This Thursday in the Basque Country, 42 degrees may be exceeded in many places, while in some areas of Andalusia it may be higher than 44 degrees locally and in Catalonia, Aragon, Murcia, Extremadura, Madrid and Castilla y León it will be around 40 degrees.

In the Balearic Islands it will be 38 degrees in Mallorca and 36 degrees in Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, while on the coast of Valencia it will be around 39 degrees.