Temperatures pass the 40ºC mark...

Thousands of people in the Balearics woke up yesterday morning after having slept, or tried to sleep through the hottest and most humid night of the year so far. Temperatures on Sunday reached nearly 41ºC in Lluch and yesterday the highest was recorded at Lluch again where the temperatures reached 37.3ºC. Elsewhere across the island the temperature settled between 30ºC and 36ºC. What is causing the mini-heatwave is a blast of hot air from North Africa which, according to the Meteorological Office in Palma, is nestling over the Balearics at a height of between 1'000 and 1'500 metres and pushing temperatures up. What is more, the high levels of humidity are making conditions feel even hotter and are in fact pushing the temperatures up by as much as 5ºC. Coupled with the lack of wind, many people have found the past two days unbearable. Most people were out and about yesterday stripped down to their shorts, in their bikinis or even diving for the nearest fountain or ice cream parlour in a bid to keep cool. But it was overnight that people suffered most with temperatures reaching nearly 24ºC with high humidity levels. Those with air conditioning made full use of the system and the gas and electricity board GESA has again posted record demand for power. The past few days have been made worse by the threat of summer storms, which would have cleared the air and forced the temperature down, but have been slow in arriving.