Taking it easy on one of Majorca's beaches yesterday.

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The heat wave scorching the Eastern Mediterranean which sent temperatures soaring to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in Sardinia and parts of Greece and Turkey yesterday, is forecast to sweep across the Balearics and southern Spain today and tomorrow sending temperatures up across the region. The National Meteorological Centre in Madrid said yesterday that, while most of mainland Spain, which saw tempereatures reach 40ºC in Valencia yesterday, will escape the heat wave, it will spend today and tomorrow over the Balearics before moving off to the South of Spain. Met office chief Angel Riviera said the heat wave is being caused by hot air from the Sahara and in southern Spain and the Balearics temperatures, which are already bobbing around 30ºC, will rise substantially over the next 48 hours. A let up in temperatures is expected over the weekend, Sunday is forecast to be the “coolest” day, but temperatures are set to rise again at the start of next week, reaching averages of between 32ºC and 34ºC. However Riviera doubts very much that temperatures will pass the 40ºC mark next week, although last Sunday, the highest temperature in Majorca was 39.5ºC in Porreras - unaided by the Mediterranean heat wave. Apparently the hot Saharan air is affecting the surface and very high parts of the atmosphere, hence why there are no clouds, which does mean that some of the heat will at least be lost overnight. Doctors and medical centres in the Balearics and southern Spain were yesterday preparing for an influx of patients over the next few days. The biggest concerns are for the elderly and people with respiratory problems. Families and care workers looking after elderly patients or parents are being offered crash courses in how to help the elderly cope over the next few days and this summer, which is forecast to be ahot one. The advice being given to people of all ages yesterday was to drink at least a glass of water every two hours and obviously take things a little slower and calmer than usual, stay out of the sun and either wear a hat or some form of protection. The heat wave is particularly bad news for power company GESA which has been battling to repair a series of faults which have caused power cuts over the past two weeks. As demand for electricity continues to reach record levels, the strain on the power supply increases.